White House Briefing

With Robert Gibbs

President Obama will meet with his Holiness the Dalai Lama on February 18th in the Map Room of the White House. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the President is looking forward to “an engaging and constructive dialogue. “
At the White House Briefing, Gibbs was also joined today by Dr. Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. She presented the Economic Report, number 64 in the order, that will be sent to Congress.
Romer said that each economic report talks about three things; first it brings up the economic challenges that we face as a country. Secondly, it talks about what policies were put in to place and how they work, and finally it lays out the President’s agenda going forward.
She also talked about the passed year and the coming challenges. Romer felt the importance of this particular report, not because of herself but because of the times we are facing.
Dr. Romer also said that this is the first time that the report is printed in color and also available electronic form. “It’s prettier than ever before”, Romer said.
When asked if the estimates are more conservative in order to not be burned politically, Dr. Romer said that, “every time we try to do the best we can. The truth is that we don’t have a crystal ball. Every year we try to do an honest, reasonable, conservative forecast ... ”

Iran

Gibbs said that they continue to monitor events in Iran as they happen. The President was very clear in his speech in Oslo, that we stand by the universal rights of Iranians to express themselves freely and to do so without intimidation and violence”.
When asked about a statement from the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency who cautioned President Obama about what he called taking the wrong steps, and telling the United States that consequences are beyond imagination; Gibbs said Iran has made a series statements that are based more on politics and not on physics. “We do not believe that they have the capability to enrich to the degree to which they now say that the are enriching. “
He also stated that, “our allies are more united in this than they have ever been,” to take actions and consequences based on the statements and actions of the Iranians.
Gibbs was also asked about the relationship with China and if they are on board with the UN sanctions, and he said that, “ the Chinese will continue to play a constructively role. They worked with us very constructive with the UN resolution with North Korea. It is not in their interest to have an arms race in the Middle East, Gibbs continued.

China

Gibbs was asked why the White House was preceding with meeting with the Dalai Lama considering how much China is clearly against it. “ We think we have a mature enough relationship with the Chinese that we can agree on issues that are of mutual interest, but we also have a mature enough relationship that we know that two countries on this planet are not always going to agree on everything, and we’ll have those disagreements, “ Gibbs said.

Snow in Washington DC Area

When asked if the President is pleased with the response to the storm, considering that the federal government is closed for a 4th day in a row, Gibbs said that what we have seen here is extraordinary. “If there was snowfall that exceeded what we had this winter, it happened before we kept statistics on snowfall. It has been an overwhelming weather event.“ People are working to clear enough so that the federal government can open again.

Sen. Bond and John Brennan

Gibbs was asked about Senator Kit Bond who was accusing the White House of using John Brennan for political purposes. Gibbs responded by telling reporters that John Brennan has worked in counterterrorism for more than 25 years. He worked at the CIA and hired by former President George W. Bush and was asked to stay on. “ I don’t have a slightest idea what political party John Brennan is a member of. I have never had a political conversation with John. I know this; John is there each and every day working in his office to try to do everything he can to keep the American people safe. And I would suggest, whether it's to Senator Bond or others on Capitol Hill, that these are decisions best left to people that have an understanding of counterterrorism, experience in counterterrorism and law enforcement, rather than to politicians on Capitol Hill.”

Lack Of Confidence Between U.S. And China Obstructing Climate Deal

By Laura Smith - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A prominent climate change researcher said Monday that a lack of confidence is standing in the way of the U.S. and China coming together on a substantive climate agreement.

“One of the greatest obstacles to achieving global progress on the issue of climate change has been a lack of confidence between the U.S. and China,” said Pew Center on Global Climate Change Vice President Elliot Diringer.

Speaking at a panel discussion hosted by The Brookings Institution, Diringer said countries will deliver their strongest possible efforts to fight climate change only if they are confident that other nations are doing the same.

"There has been long standing concerns here in this town, going back to the days of the Kyoto negotiations that China could not be counted on to do its part, and many have argued on that basis that the U.S. should hold off on enacting mandatory green house gas controls here," he said.

Big Brother: Alive And Well In Beijing

By Paul Brandus - Talk Radio News Service

Metal detectors. Visitors getting wanded. Backpacks and packages carefully screened. It’s awfully nice of the Chinese authorities to lay on all the extra security here at the Beijing Marriott while President Obama is in town.

They say it’s for our protection, we grizzled war correspondents who’ve survived Iraq, Afghanistan and other hellholes. I for one am scared to death here and appreciate the dainty young ladies with white gloves keeping the bad guys out of this plush oasis. Phew!

I sincerely doubt it’s for our benefit. More likely it’s to make it harder for us to conduct interviews with dissidents, rogue Chinese journalists and others who may have something to say that displeases the regime. We can certainly go out and meet these people in other locations, but the tight schedule we’re on makes it logistically very difficult to get away. Easier for them to come to us, hence the watchdogs downstairs. The authorities know how the game is played.

But Big Brother’s not just down in the lobby. He's right here in room 9055. He's blocked me from accessing Twitter and Facebook on my laptop (though they haven’t figured out how to keep me from tweeting on my BlackBerry). And even though this sparkling Marriott is high-tech from top to bottom, the phone on the desk makes some strange clicks whenever I make a call. Maybe it’s nothing, but it reminds me of trying to make phone calls when I worked in the Soviet Union during the bad old days of the KGB.

Indeed, China’s version of the KGB – which, by the way, I can’t seem to research on Google – has apparently been busy clamping down both before and during Obama’s visit. Agence France Presse reported earlier this week that authorities rounded up several dissidents and activists, fearing they could embarrass the leadership.

One person rounded up, says AFP, was a man named Zhao Lianhai, leader of an activist group of parents whose children were allegedly sickened by tainted milk. Zhao’s wife says he was “criminally detained for ‘provoking an incident’.” Another activist group, Human Rights in China, claims Zhao was handcuffed and taken away last week by police officers who also seized computers, a video camera and an address book.

Obama himself has made things easier for the authorities. He hasn’t met anyone who wasn’t prescreened. No free press advocates, no human rights groups, no political opposition. What about Tuesday’s “town hall” in Shanghai? Every student was carefully vetted for their reliability and prepped on how to behave.

Even worse, the White House advance team considered, but rejected a meeting with political activists, only to drop it from the schedule due to time constraints, reports the New York Times. Yet Obama found time yesterday to stroll through the Forbidden City and today visits the Great Wall of China.

It’s the first time an American President has tacitly agreed to be muzzled here. In 1998, President Clinton went on state-run TV and angered his Chinese hosts by discussing human rights, the Dalai Lama and the still-taboo bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square. In 2002, President Bush talked about the importance of personal freedom and the rule of law. But for Obama’s visit, the White House didn’t insist on a national platform for the President, and the Chinese never offered him one.

Paul Brandus filed this report from Beijing

Obama Aims To Tighten Asian Alliances During Upcoming Visit

By Meagan Wiseley - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

President Obama’s inaugural visit to Asia was postponed due to the his and First Lady Michelle Obama’s participation in the memorial service on Tuesday for those killed in the Fort Hood tragedy.

Still, the President intends to tell Asian countries when he visits later this week that the U.S. is engaged and committed to strengthening alliances with Asia and helping Asian nations achieve prosperity and security, according to Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications.

Jeffrey Bader, Senior Director for East Asian Affairs for the National Security Council, said that the President plans to raise the issue of human rights while in China.

“I think the kinds of issues that are on our minds are the freedom of expression, access to information...and certainly Tibet. I have every reason to believe that the issue of Tibet will come up on the trip,” Bader said.

Bader did not foresee discussions with the Japanese government on the realignment of Futenma Air Base, which houses 47,000 U.S. military personnel on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. The base is set to relocate to a smaller facility in 2014.

“I don’t see the Okinawa base issue being a dominant or essential issue on this visit,” Bader said. “The new Japanese government is reviewing how it wishes to move forward on [the base issue].”

The President is scheduled to leave for Japan on Thursday, followed by visits to Singapore, China and South Korea.

World Needs A Commitment From U.S. On Climate Change

By Leah Valencia - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

In Barcelona, policy makers are awaiting a commitment from the U.S. to cut greenhouse gas emissions during preliminary agreements being made ahead of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen next month.

Nick Mabey, CEO of E3G, a nonprofit think tank that promotes green solutions, said Monday that key players have began to advocate ambitious commitments, noting that China and India have discussed lofty international abatement commitments. Mabey said that all that remains is a commitment from the U.S to reduce emissions.

“With the major countries moving on finance and on commitment, this really sets up for the EU-US summit...to see the U.S. come forward and make a very positive statement about its intentions,” Mabey said during a conference call hosted by the U.S. Climate Action Network.

The U.S., which is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world - China is the largest - has yet to commit to a goal to reduce emissions by 2020. This has made it difficult to gain commitments from other developing countries. In contrast the European Union has vowed to cut 1990-level emissions by 20 percent in the next decade.

“The principle for supporting developing countries is committing to finance, as Europe has, and a strong agreement that we can build on in the future,” Mabey said. “This is really an important time where U.S. leadership has to come to the full.”

The current preliminary discussions taking place in Barcelona represent the final negotiating sessions before the United Nations meets in Copenhagen on Dec. 6 for the EU-US climate conference. There, 190 nations will draft an agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.