President Barack Obama golfs at Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown, Mass., on the island of Martha’s Vineyard
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, steps out of a golf cart driven by President Barack Obama
Archive for August 10th, 2015
10
Aug
15
Tweets Of The Day
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https://twitter.com/allaaycamp/status/627916614235746304
https://twitter.com/allaaycamp/status/627917946732564481
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Sickening; but black people know it’s business as usual in America
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https://twitter.com/BootlegGirl/status/627865304245399552
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https://twitter.com/jwdalton/status/627650998698405888
https://twitter.com/AkinsIzaha/status/625371034624126976
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https://twitter.com/ADONISSOUND/status/624633579591479296
https://twitter.com/_LuckiestCharm/status/624414344055422976
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These one star reviews….the stupid is real 😂😂😂
https://twitter.com/IMKristenBell/status/627918603057172481
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https://twitter.com/allegrakirkland/status/628603161058627584
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Bill R
I posted this on my face book page this morning:
These days Jeanette and I are doing childcare a full two days a week for our three grandchildren, four year old Matilda, and the five month old twins, Lucia and Paul. As I watch them grow and go through developmental stages I am reminded of how important it is for human beings to learn ways to calm their mind and emotions in order to react constructively with others in this world. That process starts early. And there are too many examples of human beings not learning that important skill with sad and tragic consequences both as individuals and nations.
The great spiritual leaders of our time and before, like Bishop Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and Pope Francis speak of the essential value of learning to resolve conflict with our enemies in a peaceful way so that we can live in the fruits of peace and true security. The prophet Micah says that there is no security unless all are secure. It begins with feeling secure and safe within ourselves with calm and stable thoughts and emotions.
We are at a critical juncture in our nation where a debate rages between choosing the present opportunity of resolving conflict with Iran, birthplace of a 6,000 year old ancient and advanced civilization, a nation declared by many to be an enemy. We have the opportunity- now sanctioned and authorized by a vote of the United Nations Security Council as international law- to choose diplomacy with international enforcement or unilateral war with Iran, another Middle East War with boundless catastrophic consequences.
This should be an easy choice. However, we have a faction in our country that has made a policy choice of regime change through war,and will accept no peaceful agreement that allows that govt. to stay in power. Led by a foreign govt,, funded by sympathetic billionaires Congress may likely vote disapproval of diplomacy and international law (although it is unlikely there are the votes to overcome a veto). What is needed is rational and constructive thinking and intention. Contrary to media reports, Congress does not have the authority to block this international law from implementation(see article below), but it can make impediments for implementation that will only harm the United States and US businesses.
Now is an important time especially here in Oregon as one of our senators, Ron Wyden, under the influence of a foreign govt. and its agent here in the US, is reported to be leaning toward a war decision. It is important that he hear from Oregonians as I write. Once before Senator Wyden made a rational decision to not support the war in Iraq. I am hoping he will do likewise in this case.
Those of you who know me, know that I have a life commitment to a strong meditation practice, because for me it has been the way of inner peace, harmony of mind and emotion, and healing of the soul. It is this spiritual commitment that leads me to talk to my Facebook friends, in a not customary fashion, about a vital policy decision facing our country. To make a decision to turn our backs on an internationally supported decision for diplomacy with enforcement to make a decision of a path towards war, a plan overwhelmingly supported by the scientific and weapons control community, which will actually harm our our stated policy objective of preventing nuclear proliferation, would be tragic and lead to tragic consequences for generations to come, a decision that affect even these little grandchildren of ours. Deliberate unilateral decision to deny the opportunity of peaceful resolution and choose a war of regime change is evil and destructive. It is a choice our Congress will vote on in Sept. just a few weeks. I am posting this for your own reflection and discernment, and not to invite a debate on this site.
10
Aug
15
Rise And Shine
President Barack Obama greets Ambassador Alieu Momodou Ngum, of Republic of The Gambia, and his family before the start of an ambassador credentialing ceremony in the Oval Office, Aug. 10, 2010. The presentation of credentials is a traditional ceremony that marks the formal beginning of an ambassador’s service in Washington. Photo by Pete Souza
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https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/630474648799436800
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William J. Broad: 29 U.S. Scientists Praise Iran Nuclear Deal In Letter To Obama
Twenty-nine of the nation’s top scientists — including Nobel laureates, veteran makers of nuclear arms and former White House science advisers — wrote to President Obama on Saturday to praise the Iran deal, calling it innovative and stringent. “We congratulate you and your team,” the letter says in its opening to Mr. Obama, adding that the Iran deal “will advance the cause of peace and security in the Middle East and can serve as a guidepost for future nonproliferation agreements.” In a technical judgment that seemed more ominous than some other assessments of Tehran’s nuclear capability, the letter says that Iran, before curbing its nuclear program during the long negotiations,
was “only a few weeks” away from having fuel for nuclear weapons. The deal’s plan for resolving disputes, the letter says, greatly mitigates “concerns about clandestine activities.” It hails the 24-day cap on Iranian delays to site investigations as “unprecedented,” adding that the agreement “will allow effective challenge inspection for the suspected activities of greatest concern.” It also welcomes as without precedent the deal’s explicit banning of research on nuclear weapons “rather than only their manufacture,” as established in the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty, the top arms-control agreement of the nuclear age.
More here
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Frank Main: Chicago Police And ACLU Agree To Major Changes In Stop-And-Frisk Policy
Responding to a scathing report by a civil-rights group, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy agreed Thursday to have a retired judge evaluate the department’s stop-and-frisk practices and require his officers to document whenever they conduct a pat-down. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois blasted the department in March for failing to record when officers frisk someone. The ACLU also questioned whether officers often stop people illegally. The stops have disproportionally targeted blacks, even in white neighborhoods, the ACLU found. Under the settlement, the police department will expand the information on “contact cards” that officers have been required to fill out when they stop someone on the street for questioning.
The cards list the person’s name, race, sex, address, phone number and other personal information. The officer checks a box for the type of contact: traffic-related, suspicious person, gang- or drug-related, crime victim or other. If the stop involves a vehicle, there are boxes to describe the make, model and license plate number. There are also three lines for the officer to provide a reason for the stop. Now contact cards will also say whether the person was frisked, whether contraband like a gun was found, and whether there was an arrest, warning or citation. That will allow for better monitoring of stop-and-frisk practices and their impact on minorities, according to the ACLU.
More here
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President Barack Obama meets with advisors in the Oval Office, Aug. 10, 2012. Pictured, from left, are: Mike Froman, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs; Senior Advisor David Plouffe; Chief of Staff Jack Lew; National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling; and Council of Economic Advisers Chair Alan Krueger. Photo by Pete Souza
With lipstick on his cheek from a woman’s kiss, President Barack Obama greets people in the audience following remarks at the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) National Convention at the Orlando Hilton in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. Photo by Pete Souza
The Obama Diary 
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