Israeli President Shouted Down By Protesters

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke today in favor of peace in the Middle East, but some in the audience likely couldn’t hear his call, as protesters within the room shouted him down. Three eruptions of protesters in the audience were stopped by police. The protesters shouted from tabletops and waved signs saying “stop the occupation” and “free gaza.” This all transpired at the Washington DC Convention Center, at a conference led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Peres spoke of his commitment to the peace process, saying that one of the big challenges they all faced was to “disconnect religion from terror”, so extremists are not killing in the name of a higher power.

“History is on the side of peace... history’s on our side,” Peres said. He continued that the extremists leading Iran “are on the wrong side of history.” Peres acknowledged that most Iranians are good people whom he respects, but pointed his finger at extremists like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as being the problem.

“Iran is not threatened by anybody,” Peres said, and continued that Iran’s new missile programs are unnecessary. He said that Iran’s missile development and nuclear program are a threat to Israel “and the global community at large.”

Peres said that he trusts President Obama to make meaningful bilateral negotiations, and to contribute significantly to the peace process.

Reid: Democrat’s Support of Specter is Not Conditional

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Photo by Michael Ruhl

According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Democratic Leadership will stick by Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter through thick and thin. The remarks came at a power breakfast on Capitol Hill, where Reid addressed, among other things, Specter’s recent defection to the Democratic Party.

President Obama, Vice President Biden and Reid have all pledged to support Specter when he comes up for reelection in 2010. When asked today whether or not that support was dependent on Specter voting a certain way, Reid said that it wasn’t.

“I’m not going to be in a forever, never position, but the facts are that he’s going to vote with us most of the time,” Reid Said. “I can’t foresee him doing anything that would be so mean spirited that Obama, Biden, and Reid would turn against him.”

If Al Franken wins the Senate Seat in Minnesota, which is still being contested in court, Specter would be the 60th Democrat in Congress, the number needed to stop a Republican filibuster.

“I don’t think [Specter is] going to be an automatic vote, but I don’t have any automatic votes,” Reid said. He was referring to fears from the right that Specter will be the key vote in stifling Republican policy.

Critics believe that Specter is going to help the Democrats steamroll through radical legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called the filibuster-proof Senate a “threat to the country.” He it would allow the Democrats to “have whatever it wants, without restraint, without a check or a balance.”


Specter's defection became a reality when he was assured by Reid that his seniority in the Senate would not be compromised. Reid has publicly stated that no members of Congress will be “bumped” from a committee position to make room for Specter.

The deal struck regarding Specter’s seniority was that upon defecting, he would be treated as though he had been elected a Democrat in 1980.

Not this Congress, at least.

Reid left open the door to moving Specter up in the ranks next Congress, and said, “We’ll work something out,” adding that in every new session of Congress, committee positions are worked out at the beginning of the term and restructured as necessary, and that the next Congress will not be an exception.

Chrysler Throws In The Towel

By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
One-time giant Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection today, but President Obama says he has every confidence it will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive.

After speaking with the President today, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) said that the auto industry is important to the U.S. defense industrial base and the economic power of Northern Ohio. “Most important are the 30,000 jobs saved at Chrysler,” said Kaptur.

Kaptur said that the auto industry was brought down by Wall Street and it deserves to flourish. “The government will stand behind the working capital for Chrysler in the form of working capital and loans,” said Kaptur.

Striking comparison with other bailouts, Kaptur said that if you look at who got the big money, “the AIG gets 70 billion, one company?” She went on to say that TARP should have been opened up for vehicle sales
and for the financing of dealership showroom floors. Instead, there was a total credit strangle hold, which still is impacting this industry, and unemployment started to tick up all across the country.

The federal bankruptcy court will ultimately determine Chrysler’s immediate future, but Jeeps might still get a chance to four-wheel over mountains.

Specter’s Spectacle

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Senator Arlen Specter
Photo by Michael Ruhl

Senator Arlen Specter (Penn.) says that he left the Republican Party because they had stuck their nose into party affairs to the point of breeding extremism. Ironically the Democrats are doing the exact same thing to their newest member. Micromanaging from the highest level doesn’t seem to be exclusive to the Republicans.

Yesterday Specter walked away from the party he has been with for nearly four decades, because he felt they were ignoring moderate voice. Specter announced his decision to defect to the Democratic Party, only the twenty-first time that a Senator has done such a thing since 1890.

President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have both said they will fully support Specter in his 2010 election, but Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) was not sure that the party establishment should be backing Specter in this way.

“If decisions and candidates are being chosen in Washington, you may just reemphasize that divisive barrier that’s between the parties,” Sestak said. “I think we cannot afford to have a decision that is so important to Pennsylvanians be decided by the party establishment,” and that the voters should be the ones to choose their candidate.

Sestak is rumored to be considering running for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, and would come up against Specter in the Democratic primary. When asked directly, Sestak said he had not decided yet whether or not he would run. Another contender, Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.) said today that she would not run for the seat.

The republican response has ranged from anger to confusion. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steel likened Specter to Benedict Arnold.

“Clearly, this was an act based on political expediency by a craven politician desperate to keep his Washington power base - not the act of a statesman,” Steel said. “Arlen Specter handed Barack Obama and his band of radical leftists nearly absolute power in the United States Senate.”

Specter responded, “I have not represented the Republican Party, I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.” He was referencing the fact that in the past months there has been an exodus from the Republican Party in Pennsylvania, where over 100,000 individuals changed their party registration from Republican to Democrat.

Specter is defending his position as being one of riding with the tides of his constituency, instead of bowing to the will of a national political party. Critics see it as a survival move of a desperate politician.

Speaking today with President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, Specter said that staying in the Senate would allow him to carry forward important initiatives for his constituents, speaking specifically about expanding medical research.

Specter would prove to be the 60 Democrat in the Senate, provided that comedian Al Franken prevails in his court case for the Minnesota Senate. Sixty votes, called a supermajority, is enough to override a Republican filibuster. Specter said previously, though, that he was not going to simply back the Democrats automatically, and President Obama acknowledged that, saying, “I don’t expect Arlen to be a rubber stamp.” According to Obama, he and Specter agree in the areas of health care, education, medical research

Iraqi Refugees need U.S. help, advocates say

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

America must invest more time, money, and human resources to help those displaced by the ongoing Iraq War, according to human rights advocates from the Washington, D.C.-based Refugees International.

The presence of 2.6 million displaced Iraqis persons is overwhelming to neighboring Middle East countries and is “undermining” to the social fabric of Iraq, said Ken Bacon, President of Refugees International, at a speech made today at the National Press Club.

President Barack Obama talked about displacement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during his surprise visit to Iraq on Tuesday.

Bacon is happy at what is being seen as a distinct change from the “little attention” that the Bush Administration paid to Iraqi displacement.

It is estimated that since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, 2.6 million Iraqi’s have lost their homes and have fled other parts of the country. An additional 2 million have fled to neighboring countries, including Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Bacon said that greater American and international support in receiving refugees and providing financial-aid can help stop the crisis.

Displacement of that many people “affects the whole region”, said Bacon, which results in educated citizens and specialized workers fleeing the country.

There are only 18,000 practicing doctors in Iraq, down from 32,000 doctors in 2002. There are more Iraqi doctors in Jordan than in Iraq’s capitol city of Baghdad, Bacon said.

Last year Democratic Senators Robert Casey (PA) and Benjamin Cardin (MD) introduced a bill to increase aid to Iraqi refugees and allow more of them to enter the United States. Since the FY2010 Budget has been approved by Congress, any appropriated funds to help Iraqi citizens would have to come through additional legislation, Bacon said.

A spokesman for Senator Cardin said it has not been decided yet if similar legislation would be introduced in this Congress.

Refugee International’s Field Report on the Iraqi refugee situation said that the Iraqi government is trying to keep more of its citizens from fleeing their homeland. It is feared by the Iraqi government that the existence of so many refugees tarnishes the image of overall security within the country.

The report also said Iraq violated international refugee laws in 2007 by asking Syria not to accept any more Iraqi refugees.

Many refugees have fears of returning home, the report says, because many of those that returned already have been killed.

Kristele Younes, an advocate with Refugees International, says that security is a major issue in Iraqi neighborhoods, with each little borough acting as its own walled off “fiefdom”.

Younes said that the United Nations is trying to place a tourniquet on the flow of persons out of the country by the end of the year, but significant challenges remain in Iraq, including budgetary shortcomings due to low oil prices, corruption within the government and sectarianism.

The Refugees International’s report on Iraq can be found here.