Tuesday, May 24, 2011

In the news:

Analysis: Obama's land swap surprise

For all the clarification Obama made during his Sunday speech to AIPAC of what he really meant by saying last Thursday that Israel should withdraw to the 1967 lines with mutually agreed-upon land swaps, in the final analysis Netanyahu didn’t see this coming. He was taken completely by surprise – something that accounts both for his furious phone call with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just before Obama delivered the Thursday speech, and for his harsh response to the speech, which set a nasty tone for the visit before it even got underway.


Volcanic Ash Cloud Again Disrupts Flights in Europe

Ash, smoke and steam erupted from southeastern Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano, buried deep beneath the ice of the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier. The volcano began spewing fire on Saturday for the first time since 2004. The eruption quickly became Grimsvotn's largest since 1910.


Massive Tornado Outbreak in the Southern Plains Tuesday

After severe thunderstorms and tornadoes damaged parts of the southern Plains over the weekend, another round of devastating tornadoes is on the way for Tuesday.

AccuWeather.com Meteorologists are forecasting that there will be at least 50 tornado reports on Tuesday, many of them across the eastern half of Oklahoma and eastern Kansas. The greatest threat of tornadic activity on Tuesday lies in the corridor from Oklahoma City, Okla., to Wichita, Kan., to already hard-hit Joplin, Mo


A Socialist Debacle in Spain, But Uncertainty Reigns

In what is being viewed as a dress rehearsal for the general election in 2012, Spain’s Socialist Party on May 22 suffered its worst defeat in municipal polls since Spain returned to democracy in 1978 after the death of the dictator General Francisco Franco. Amid mass anger at Spain’s failing economy, the center-right opposition Popular Party won 37.5 percent of the municipal vote across the country, compared with 28 percent for the Socialist Party. The left-wing El PaĆ­s newspaper described the defeat as “a tsunami drowning the Socialists.”


Spain Ripe for Revolt?

The rallies have been instigated by the major economic crisis that has affected Spanish citizens, with the working-class being most affected. Spain’s unemployment level has reached a new eurozone high of 21.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, with a record 4.9. million people out of work. The rate has been the highest reported since 1997.

The protest itself, began on Sunday. On the first evening, police removed protestors, but just last night allowed them to stay overnight. The atmosphere is quite festive, with the mood being peaceful but also unified in their belief for a more democratic society.


US-Israel lobby gathers amid unease in relationship

Thousands of pro-Israel delegates packed a convention center here Sunday, strongly supportive of vital US-Israel ties but shaken by a public spat between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As the president prepared to speak at the annual policy conference for AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, delegates appeared subdued in the aftermath of Obama's recent address to the broader Middle East in which he raised hackles by calling for use of the 1967 borders as a basis for peace talks.

The rocky ties between Obama and Netanyahu hit a new low this week as the Israeli leader dismissively rejected Obama's Middle East vision and then proceeded to lecture him in the Oval Office.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, so obama talks to Netanyahu, tornados break out. Now today Netanyahu is talking to congress and more tornado outbreaks are expected to form.

Dylan said...

I think netanyahu did pretty well. He couldve done a bit better, been a little calmer and less defensive. Other than that he did pretty well.

Scott said...

I missed it - is there a video link ?