McCain Credits Fall Of Berlin Wall To Global Human Rights Appeal

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

On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) addressed a crowd of students, teachers and press at John Hopkins University about the historic event's impact on global human rights.

“The Berlin Wall fell for many reasons... Economic power had a lot to do with, for without the combined wealth of the west, we would never have overcome our darkest hours of need. Military power also had a lot to do with, for without the strength to defend ourselves, our dreams of peace would have remained just that. But beyond all of this, what truly toppled the Berlin Wall and ended the Cold War, was a deeper power, a moral power. The universal appeal of human rights and the support of the west for all those who struggled with these values from behind the Iron Curtain," McCain said.

The Arizona Republican, who last year ran for President against Barack Obama, stressed the need for the U.S. to continue to set the worldwide standard for individual freedom.

“The United States has a special responsibility to champion human rights in all places for all peoples and at all times. Why us? The answer, I think is simple. It’s who we are.”

McCain's remarks came just days before Obama sets out on his first presidential trip to Asia; a visit in which he is expcted to address human rights abuses in Singapore and Tibet.

"If we believe in the power and appeal of our values, they can supply us all at once with the strength to push for what we believe is right, the patience to endure what are often generational struggles, and the confidence to know that we are on the right side of history," he said.

Bi-partisan Bill Gives Obama More Power Over Iran Sanctions

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Liberals and Conservatives stood together at a Senate press conference today to discuss the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act.

Senator Evan Bayh (R-Ind.) author of the bill, along with Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Senator Jon Kyl (D-Ind.), said that bi-partisanship had been achieved on this bill because of the “critical importance of this issue.”

The purpose of the legislation, which expands on the Iran Sanction of 1996, Lieberman said is, “to empower President Obama...by providing him with the explicit authority to target Iran’s achilles economic heel, which is its dependence on imports of petroleum...most notably gasoline.”

Lieberman accused previous legislation of being “quite ambiguous” and said that this legislation would “eliminate” that ambiguity. The new proposal would provide the President with a “powerful new weapon to use in the negotiations with Iran,” said Lieberman. Adding it is up to President Obama to decide, “when, where and against whom to use it.”

Bayh said the bill would help to “strengthen the President’s outreach” to Iran. Adding “if events continue go as they are currently going, then at some point during the next two to four years Iran will have a nuclear weapon”. This would have a “destabilizing” effect on the entire world,” said Bayh. This bill, he said, “gives us our best opportunity to avoid that outcome without the resort to military force.”

Kyl said the bill gives the President the tool to “stop companies who continue to sell refined gasoline to Iran or provide refining capacity from doing business in the United States or through the American banking systems.”

“In effect what we are saying to the few companies in the world who provide this refined gasoline to Iran is, ‘You can either do business in our $13 trillion economy with us, or you can do business with Iran with its $250 billion economy, but you can’t do both,’” said Kyl.

In closing Lieberman said, “this is important legislation introduced at a critical time whose consequences for the people of America, Iran, Israel and the Arab world are going to be quite serious.” Adding that he hoped this bill would make it “more likely” for the “diplomatic engagements” between President Obama and the Irani government to succeed and that “they will peacefully abandon their nuclear ambitions.”

Twenty-five U.S. Senators, from both parties, have currently signed their name as a co-sponsors to this piece of legislation.

Send me some sun from the west

During a conference call briefing, Rhone Resch, President and CEO of
the Solar Energy Industries Association and Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association announced the release of a joint
publication, "Green Power Superhighways: Building a Path to America's
Clean Energy Future."

The plan for the proposed "green super highways" is to develop a new
infrastructure to take advantage of the potential power in the
southwest. "There is a very important reality that has to be
addressed. Although the U.S. is home to an inexhaustible amount of
renewable energy, much of these resources are not located in areas
where the electricity is needed most." said Resch.

Bode stated that the concept of having a new high-tech electron highway
is critically important in order to make a new economy work. "It's
technically feasible because the technology for high voltage lines is
very efficient," said Bode, and "the bottom line is we are not asking
for money, we're asking to remove policy barricades that are holding
us back."

Resch stated that there is a critical role that the federal government
needs to play in insuring that these new transmission lines are placed
in the right locations, in an expedited manner, and that they are
financed properly. "We are using 19th and 20th century technologies to
tackle 21st century challenges," concluded Resch.

by Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service