Yes, it was somewhat old, but the Nation Brand Index still had us at number 1 for 2010 as well.
I'm sure that some countries aren't fond of Obama. But Boortz likes to have his cake and eat it too. If countries like the US, it's because Obama projects weakness and they're happy about it. If countries DON'T like the US, it's proof positive that Obama is a poor leader and our allies can't trust him to lead.
I was flabbergasted that Obama chose to escalate the covert war we have been waging against our ally, Pakistan, in their own country. Struck me as a poor decision all around, more driven by the bravura of his own campaign than any sound principle of war or strategery.
...burp.
Last edited by Winehole23; 02-10-2011 at 03:54 AM.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/ray-da...2869411&page=1According to two officials close to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, the White House has threatened to shut the U.S.'s three consulates in Pakistan and postpone the official bilateral, strategic dialogue, as well as Zardari's upcoming trip to Washington, D.C.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/ray-da...2869411&page=2That the ISI sent the equivalent of two hired guns to trail Davis is a sign that the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agencies is at a low point, according to all four officials quoted in this article. In October, the ISI helped reveal the name of the CIA station chief -- inadvertently, according to a separate, senior Pakistani official -- forcing the station chief to leave the country.
This is such a sandwich... we keep throwing gazillion of dollars to try to buy popularity, but a good chunk most likely ends up in the hands of ISI and corrupt politicians, and I'm pretty sure some end up funding the bad guys.
On the other hand, we can't just turn around and cut ties with them, or change their status to flat-out terrerist-harboring enemy (even tho technically they are), because of the nuke situation there.
except in pre-Bush years USA was highly respected and looked up to for years and years around the world. So the comparison to the Yankees/Lakers is failed.
Could it have been to have cause to make the patriot act work against us citizens?
Doubt it.The Patriot Act was already working aganist us just fine.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/01...i-intelligence
The Patriot Act is already being used against US citizens.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...149810014.htmlU.S.-Pakistan Row Intensifies
Washington Scraps Talks, Citing 'Political Changes' Amid American's Detention
By ZAHID HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The U.S. canceled talks in Washington involving Pakistan due to an escalating diplomatic row over the detention last month of an American employed by the U.S. government who shot dead two armed men.
AFP/Getty Images Paramilitary soldiers take positions on Sunday outside Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore, where U.S. government employee Raymond Davis is held.
A U.S. State Department statement Sunday said the high-level meeting involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and the U.S. was called off "in light of the political changes in Pakistan." Pakistan's government Friday announced cabinet changes that removed A U.S. State Department statement Sunday said the high-level meeting involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and the U.S. was called off "in light of the political changes in Pakistan." Pakistan's government Friday announced cabinet changes that removed Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the country's former foreign minister, from his post.
But a senior Pakistan foreign ministry official said Washington's cancellation of the meeting was intended to pressure Pakistan to release the U.S. government employeShah Mahmood Qureshi, the country's former foreign minister, from his post.
A U.S. State Department statement Sunday said the high-level meeting involving Pakistan, Afghanistan and the U.S. was called off "in light of the political changes in Pakistan." Pakistan's government Friday announced cabinet changes that removed Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the country's former foreign minister, from his post.
But a senior Pakistan foreign ministry official said Washington's cancellation of the meeting was intended to pressure Pakistan to release the U.S. government employee.
Pakistan police say preliminary investigations have shown the man, who they have named as Raymond Davis, is likely to be charged soon with murder.
Pakistani authorities say Mr. Davis is an employee of a U.S.-based security company who was working under contract for the U.S. government in Pakistan.
The U.S. government has given few details about the man, who it hasn't named.
The embassy in Islamabad said the man, who it claims fired in self-defense, is covered by diplomatic immunity and should be immediately released.
Pakistani officials have publicly questioned whether Mr. Davis acted in self-defense and have said he may have known the attackers, but they have given no clear picture of what they think occurred.
The U.S. last week suspended several bilateral engagements with Pakistan after a high court barred Pakistan's government from releasing Mr. Davis, Pakistani officials said.
Abdul Basit, a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman, said the cancellation of the Washington meeting won't affect the long-term strategic partnership between the two nations.
Pakistani officials said the Obama administration also has threatened to call off an upcoming state visit to Washington by President Asif Ali Zardari if the standoff over Mr. Davis doesn't end.
The visit was expected to take place in March, though no date was fixed.
No official at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad was available for comment.
Mr. Davis shot and killed two gunmen who tried to intercept his car in a congested market place in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Jan. 27. A second car, which came to extricate Mr. Davis from the situation, ran over and killed a bystander. Police arrested Mr. Davis and have held him in detention since then. The driver of the second car, who wasn't named, escaped arrest.
Somehow I feel we're going to get the spin on this story in an upcoming film led "The Bourne Infiltration" courtesy of Universal Pictures (based on true events!), where the dead bystander will most likely be carrying some sort of RPG...
It is very worrysome. We need them for a number of reasons, it is a "least bad" scenario any way we go.
Time to keep things good with India. Just in case.
Dave Lindorff's piece says the motorcycle guys were lightly armed, did not fire on Davis, and received two wounds each in the back.
US Misinformation: International Law is Clear that Diplomatic Immunity is Not Absolute
The US media has confirmed what the US government is denying: Davis runs a private security firm. He is a military contractor. He is registered in Colorado as the owner of a security firm.” He says the questions that should be asked are: What was his real job in Lahore/Islamabad/Peshawar? And can a diplomats carry an unlicensed gun?”
This same friend also suggests that the inden y of the two Pakistani shooting victims -- according to a number of Pakistani reports, and to several in the US, including ABC News, they were working for Pakistani intelligence and were tailing Davis -- is a distraction. He says the real issues are what Davis was doing here and secondly, can a so-called “technical advisor”--the term the US State Department finally settled on to describe his job -- claim diplomatic immunity?
within the Convention which strip away any absolute blanket coverage under the guise of “diplomatic immunity” for visiting or appointed diplomats.
Fight the lies and misinformation; support truth! Please make a tax-deductible donation to Truthout today and keep real independent journalism strong.
Article 38 of the Vienna Convention 1961 states that except where additional privileges and immunities have been specifically granted by the host State, a diplomatic agent who is a national of or permanently resident in that State shall enjoy only immunity from jurisdiction, and inviolability, in respect of official acts performed in the exercise of his functions.
The above article clearly differentiates between an act carried out as part of his official duties and those done as a personal act. Any actions done personally and outside the ambit of official consular duties shall not be covered by “diplomatic immunity.”
Article 37 of the 1961 convention goes on to reinforce the above limitation on immunity by stating:
…Members of the administrative and technical staff of the mission, together with members of their families forming part of their respective households, shall, if they are not nationals of or permanently resident in the receiving State, enjoy the privileges and immunities specified in articles 29to 35, except that the immunity from civil and administrative jurisdiction of the receiving State specified in paragraph 1 of article 31 shall not extend to acts performed outside the course of their duties.
The question then becomes not whether or not those murdered were Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agents, robbers or fruit sellers, but whether Davis did or did not have diplomatic immunity, but whether his fatal shooting of the two men was conducted while he was involved in performing his official duties.
http://www.truth-out.org/print/67730
Really? Because wasn't there terrorists prior to that? You think we walked away from Vietnam with the same popularity as 30 years prior?
Excessively focused on popularity? That's our cooler girl.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...022102801.htmlThe American who fatally shot two men in Pakistan last month and who has been described publicly as a diplomat is a security contractor for the CIA who was part of a secret agency team operating out of a safe house in Lahore, U.S. officials said
ibid."Our security personnel around the world act in a support role providing security for American officials. They do not conduct foreign intelligence collection or covert operations. Any assertion to the contrary is flat wrong," said George Little, a spokesman for the CIA, without commenting specifically on Davis.
The Washington Post learned of Davis's CIA affiliation after his arrest but agreed not to publish the information at the request of senior U.S. intelligence officials, who cited concern for Davis's safety if his true employment status were disclosed.
Those officials withdrew the request Monday after other news organizations identified Davis as a CIA employee and after U.S. officials made a final attempt to prevail upon Pakistan's government to release Davis or move him to a safer facility.
The CIA lied? I'm shocked.
The link to Lindorff implied as much. Don't you ever read?
USA got their asses kicked in vietnam. If anything ppl around the world were feeling sorry for them, or laughing at them.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,6305758.storyA CIA contractor indicted earlier in the day on two murder charges in Pakistan was acquitted and released on Wednesday after a deal to pay "blood money" to the victims' families was reached, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told Reuters.
And the capital of Nebraska is Lincoln!!!!
You should maybe skip the Adderol in your coffee, Viva. It's an update, even if the result was predicted.
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