White House Fails to Meet Climate Change Pledge

The Obama administration has failed to abide by its promise to join developed nations in giving poor countries $ 100 billion by 2020 to fight climate change.

A new Oxfam report, which coincides with the a United Nations meeting in Poland this week aimed at assessing international efforts on the issue, says there has been a lot of confusion about what exactly was pledged, reports the Washington Times.

“What is needed is certainty in uncertain times,” Kelly Dent, a spokeswoman for the British-based relief charity told the newspaper. “The U.S. needs to provide certainty to developing countries that it is actually serious about the 2020 commitment and it needs to increase its commitments to reach the 2020 goal.”

Industrialized countries including the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, and Germany agreed to donate the money during a 2009 UN meeting in Copenhagen, but four years later they are said to be far from meeting that target.

“They’re not doing anywhere near enough,” Dent told the Times, adding, “The only ones that are close to doing what is needed are the U.K. and Germany.”

The $ 100 billion fund is at the center of the talks in Warsaw, where representatives of more than 190 countries have gathered to lay the groundwork for a global agreement on climate change, reports The Washington Post.

“Warsaw, even more than usual, is a stop along the way toward accomplishments in the longer term,” said Nathaniel Keohane, vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund’s international climate program, adding, “I don’t think anyone is expecting a major landmark in Warsaw.”

Meanwhile, Oxfam estimates that the U.S. donated $ 7.5 billion dollars to the global fund from 2010 through 2012, but in 2013 Washington gave just $ 1.6 billion.

“I hope President Obama is able to follow through on what he has promised,” Dent said, adding, “It remains to be seen whether he can follow through on his promises to reduce emissions.”

The State Department’s special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern, said in a speech in London last month that an increase in funding from developed countries is not likely.

“Now, the hard reality: no step change in overall levels of public funding from developed countries is likely to come anytime soon,” he said at Chatham House.

“The fiscal reality of the United States and other developed countries is not going to allow it.”

Related stories:

• Obama to Focus on Climate Change


• High Court to Hear Challenge to Obama on Climate Change

© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Newsmax – America

White House Fails to Meet Climate Change Pledge

‘Gitmo Clock’ counts seconds since Obama’s unfulfilled pledge to free prisoners

Published time: August 09, 2013 09:58

Activists calling for closure of Guantanamo Bay prison have launched an online clock, which counts the time since President Obama’s latest promise to set free inmates whom the US cleared for release. So far all of the 86 men remain incarcerated.

The clock is a symbolic reminder of the fate of the 166 people who are currently kept in the controversial US facility.

Dozens of detainees are continuing their so-far six-month hunger strike, a gesture of despair from the people, who have little hope to ever be free, says Andy Worthington, a human rights activist who has been advocating for Guantanamo prisoners for years.

The promise to close Guantanamo prison was one of the key points of Barack Obama’s 2008 election campaign. One of his first moves as the president was an order to do so, yet the facility still remains active.

The latest pledge from the president regarding Gitmo inmates came in a key security policy speech in May, which came in response to the concerns over the hunger strike voiced by some international bodies, including the UN, the EU and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Obama said that 86 inmates, who were cleared for release in January 2010 by the inter-agency Guantanamo Review Task Force, would be given freedom. The majority of those on the list – 56 – are Yemenis. The number of people released so far is 0. In the last three years seven prisoners have left Guantanamo.

With a few exceptions, Guantanamo prisoners were never charged with any crimes or tried. Of the 80 inmates not cleared for release, 46 were recommended for indefinite detention without trial, because there was no sufficient evidence against them. The majority of those recommended for prosecution has not been put forward for trials, and are unlikely to be, according to General Mark Martins, the chief prosecutor of the military commissions.

US lawmakers demand that the presidential administration certifies that any Guantanamo prisoner released would not be able to engage in any terrorist activities against the US. Worthington argues that such a certification is almost impossible to make.

While Guantanamo inmates remain in legal limbo, a terrorist threat has returned to the frontline of the public discourse in the US this week. Washington issued a major alert and shut down dozens of its diplomatic outposts, mostly in the Middle East, Persian Gulf region and Africa. The US also evacuated non-essential staff from two facilities in Yemen and Pakistan, also warning its citizens that those countries are not safe for travel.

The terror alert came after an intercepted Al-Qaeda communication indicating a major plot against America, US officials explained. Some skeptics voiced their doubts, saying that the threat may have been blown out of proportion and that the alert is being used to justify the massive surveillance methods used by the US National Security Agency.

The existence of programs for dragnet collection of electronic data, which was made public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, sparked a major scandal. The US maintains that the programs are lawful, efficient and morally justified methods to provide national security. Critics see it as a major violation of privacy.

RT – USA

‘Gitmo Clock’ counts seconds since Obama’s unfulfilled pledge to free prisoners

Australia"s Abbott in asylum pledge

25 July 2013 Last updated at 03:57 ET

Survivors have been moved to an immigration facility in Indonesia

Australia’s opposition has called for a military solution to fight people smugglers, as the toll from the sinking of an asylum boat rose to 11.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said the issue was “a national emergency”, and he would ask a military commander to tackle the boats, if elected.

The migrant boat sank off Indonesia’s Java island, a transit point for people-smugglers, on Wednesday.

Asylum policy is due to be a key issue in elections this year in Australia.

Australia has experienced a spike in asylum seekers arriving by boat this year.

“There is a national emergency on our borders,” Mr Abbott said on Thursday. “That’s why we need to have a senior military officer in operational control.”

Under the plan, called Operation Sovereign Borders, the chief of the defence force would be asked to appoint a commander to lead operations tackling people smugglers and asylum boats.

The commander would report directly to the immigration minister, creating “a clear chain of command”, Mr Abbott said.

Boat arrivals have soared in the past 18 months, with most asylum seekers coming from Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. They make their way to Indonesia and from there head to Christmas Island, the closest part of Australian territory to Java.

They travel in boats that are often over-crowded and poorly-maintained. Several have sunk in recent months, killing passengers.

Australian aid row

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who announced a new asylum policy last week, said Mr Abbott’s proposal was no more than “a three-word slogan… Operation Sovereign something-or-other”.

Mr Abbott has questioned whether aid to PNG will be well spent

Under Mr Rudd’s policy, asylum-seekers arriving by boat in Australia will be sent to Papua New Guinea (PNG) for processing, and those whose refugee claims are upheld will be settled in PNG, rather than Australia.

PNG will receive Australian investment as part of the deal.

However, critics have accused Australia of avoiding responsibility and passing on its problem to a developing nation.

Meanwhile, a row has broken out between PNG’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and the Australian opposition.

On Tuesday, Mr Abbott described Australian aid to PNG as “a free gift”, saying “it seems we are basically just handing over cash to the PNG government”.

Opposition foreign affair spokeswoman Julie Bishop also said that Mr O’Neill had told the coalition he had “total control over the entire Australian aid budget”.

On Thursday, Mr O’Neill told Australian broadcaster ABC that he was “disappointed” with the opposition.

“I don’t particularly appreciate being misrepresented by others for their own political interests,” he said.

Asylum policy is likely to be an important issue in Australia’s federal elections, which must take place by 30 November.

An opinion poll on Tuesday suggested that the opposition coalition led Mr Rudd’s Labor party by 52% to 48% after preferences.

BBC News – Asia

Australia"s Abbott in asylum pledge

EU nations pledge to keep eye on citizens fighting in Syria

Associated Press
foxnews.com
June 7, 2013

European Union nations pledged Friday to step up cooperation in an effort to keep the more than 600 EU citizens now fighting in Syria from veering toward terrorism upon their return home.

EU home affairs ministers said they plan to increase surveillance of social media, intensify cooperation with nations that border Syria like Turkey and urge the European Parliament to approve legislation to make suspicious travel to the region more traceable.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls says the number of EU citizens fighting abroad with potential links to terror groups “has never been seen at this scale.” He said it by far outstripped recent wars and conflicts in Afghanistan, Somalia and the Sahel region.

Read more

This article was posted: Friday, June 7, 2013 at 1:42 pm

Tags: big brother, foreign affairs, war

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EU nations pledge to keep eye on citizens fighting in Syria

EU nations pledge to keep eye on citizens fighting in Syria

Associated Press
foxnews.com
June 7, 2013

European Union nations pledged Friday to step up cooperation in an effort to keep the more than 600 EU citizens now fighting in Syria from veering toward terrorism upon their return home.

EU home affairs ministers said they plan to increase surveillance of social media, intensify cooperation with nations that border Syria like Turkey and urge the European Parliament to approve legislation to make suspicious travel to the region more traceable.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls says the number of EU citizens fighting abroad with potential links to terror groups “has never been seen at this scale.” He said it by far outstripped recent wars and conflicts in Afghanistan, Somalia and the Sahel region.

Read more

This article was posted: Friday, June 7, 2013 at 1:42 pm

Tags: big brother, foreign affairs, war

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Infowars

EU nations pledge to keep eye on citizens fighting in Syria

Texas school forces students to recite Mexican pledge

One student in a Texas high school is taking legal action after she said she was reprimanded for not participating in a class recitation of the Mexican pledge of allegiance and national anthem.
Fifteen-year-old Brenda Brindson’s suit, filed by the Thomas More Law Center, contends administrators violated her constitutional rights by forcing her to salute a foreign nation’s flag.
While the same school district has a written policy against coercing students to recite either the American pledge of allegiance or the U.S. Declaration of Independence, somehow verbally expressing loyalty to another nation is compulsory.
Richard Thompson, president of the TMLC, said this incident is indicative of “a sad trend in public schools across our nation to undermine American patriotism,” though he said he finds it “encouraging to see students like Brenda stand up for America despite pressure from school officials.”
Such pressure reportedly included Brindson’s teacher issuing her a failing grade on the assignment and forcing her to listen to a wave of schoolmates pledge allegiance to Mexico.
According to her lawsuit, Brindson even tried to compromise with her teacher, requesting to instead salute the American flag and recite its pledge in Spanish.
The student, fluent in Spanish and the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, is a proud American and contends pledging loyalty to any other nation is unacceptable.
She gets no argument from me.
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Texas school forces students to recite Mexican pledge