The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/obama/page/2/)
So, we’re a nation that tortures.
Doesn’t feel particularly good to think about in the abstract, let alone face as a reality. But, that’s what the United States has done, torture. We’ve probably done it for a long while.
Writing this blog, I saw two options as to how to handle the issue. I could just talk about how we justified torture in several ways, ranging from the “greater good” argument to avoiding the issue on technicalities (e.g.
As a blogger, my job is often to present news stories and provide commentary so as to begin a conversation. Sometimes, though, an article comes along where you don’t have to do much talking.
NPR released a fictional news story on April 20 on its “All Things Considered” radio program. The question they considered was simple: What if marijuana had been legal in the US for two years and was treated like alcohol in terms of taxation, regulation and who it could be sold to? What would the world be like?
President Obama’s decision to release internal CIA documents detailing interrogation techniques represents a fundamental contradiction in his policy towards torture and transparency. President Obama has vehemently expressed his opposition to anything that can be construed as torture (rightly so) and one of his first actions as President was to close down Guantanamo Bay. However, President Obama has decided to “move forward” by releasing these torture memos, yet maintains the same state secret arguments that President Bush utilized. President Obama cannot have it both ways.
As most of us are aware, much of US security and intelligence data comes from satellites orbiting the earth. With growing suspicion of countries possessing nuclear weaponry, celestial technology has seen major innovation in recent years. On Tuesday, President Obama approved a bill calling for the purchase of multimillion-dollar commercial imagery technology, including several satellites with unprecedented abilities. Most of the advancements in satellite spying have been delayed since 2005 and the Obama administration is now working to reinvigorate the program and bring intelligence to a new level.
President Obama said something very important and insightful during his address to Congress on February 24th. “We cannot afford to govern out of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment,” was the President’s advice on how Congress and his administration should proceed with stabilizing the financial system. The moral hazard involved in bailing out institutions deemed “too big to fail” is well documented, but the costs of allowing some financial institutions to fail is greater than the costs of using taxpayer dollars to stabilize these institutions. Both the administration and Congress must be wary of growing populist sentiment, because there will inevitably be more money needed to solve the financial crisis.
During his campaign, President Obama took the unprecedented step of traveling to Europe and giving a speech to thousands in Berlin. Undoubtedly, the trip was motivated by domestic goals; Obama wanted to be portrayed as a leader that could restore greatness to the image of the United States abroad, a leader that we could be proud of. And in that sense, it was effective. Now as the President makes his second trip abroad (and first major one) he is bringing the stump speech from Prague to Ankara in an effort to win over foreign publics and governments.
Last night, the Cornell Cinema did not screen a new film or an old classic, but rather a compilation of clips of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign accompanied by a personal presentation by the current White House videographer, Arun Chaudhary ’97. The Cornell alumnus, who was the director of field production for Barack Obama during his campaign, spoke of his experiences filming the then-presidential candidate, the thousands of clips he recorded and how his work evolved as Obama’s campaign spread across America.
During his lecture, Chaudhary emphasized the importance of “new media” and how the recordings that he and his team created helped introduce Obama to the public.
On Friday President Obama released a video message aimed directly at the Iranian government and people on the occasion of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. In the message, Obama offers Iran a new beginning, and a new opportunity for dialogue. Such a message puts Iran’s hardliners in an awkward position. In the past, they could blame the US and the Bush administration for preventing a rapprochement, while now they look like the obstructionists if they do not show a willingness to engage.
While Liz continues on her analysis of international woes from a European perspective, I’ve decided the time is ripe to pipe up with some American vision about recent events.
Let’s begin with an anecdote. Last Thursday, as many began to celebrate the start of spring break a bit early, I was holed up in my room writing papers (yes, plural) . As I typed, my roommate barged into my room to decry Obama’s economic policy solutions. Claiming that they were destroying the banking system, he explained that there was a clause in the recovery plan (hire-American) that mandated all companies receiving government support hire only American employees. This has been at the cost of the jobs of many foreigners in the United States.
President Barack Obama made health reform a pillar of his campaign and he has issued some broad guidelines as to how he might proceed. In a surprising moment of specificity, however, President Obama made a statement regarding a specific policy he might like to implement. This policy entails third-party billing for veterans’ healthcare. This is common practice for conditions unrelated to military service, but now President Obama is considering allowing the VA to bill third-party, private insurers for services resulting from injuries received as a result of combat.