President Obama’s visit to the concentration camps at Buchenwald in Germany could not hide the fact that the rift between Germany and the United States is widening. The subsequent commemoration of D-Day in France contained some embarrassing moments. Many in Israel feel betrayed by Obama. The rift between the USA and Israel is widening as well.
At the same time, according to the supreme religious leader of Iran, Muslim nations continue to hate America, in spite of Obama’s speech in Cairo and his fascination with Islam. As the interview with one of his advisors for Muslim affairs reveals, his Cairo speech was clearly politically motivated. Iranians vote for a new President tomorrow, Friday, June 12. But as Der Spiegel writes, regardless as to who wins, not much will change regarding Iran’s ambitions to become a nuclear power.
While Governor Palin points at real risks in the approach taken by the Obama administration, former Vice-President Cheney’s comments become more and more controversial and incredible. And North Korea–one of the world’s secretive, communist, dictatorial and suppressive regimes–continues to antagonize the West, which appears to be helpless in view of consistent dangerous North Korean aggressions.
The outcome of EU elections has shown that most Europeans reject big business and stimulus packages. As newspaper columns have expressed it: While the USA moves left under Obama, Europe goes right under Merkel, Sarkozy and Berlusconi. Movements can be observed in Europe and elsewhere, advocating mandatory voting and fining those who won’t vote. In the case of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, some German politicians claim that the church’s policy against voting violates the German Constitution.
Finally, the WHO designated the swine flu as a global pandemic. And pigs DO make people sick–and the medical community knew this for a long time, without revealing it, due to pressures from the pork industry.
