Barack Obama Archives - The Silver Ink

Obama apologizes for killing of US, Italian hostages in drone strike

April 25, 2015 By Stephanie James Leave a Comment

Taking complete responsibility of all counter-terrorism operations, US President Barack Obama extended apology for the unintentional killings of an American and an Italian national in the drone strikes that took place in January at an al Qaeda compound in Pakistan near the Afghan border.

In his speech at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Obama said, “We all hemorrhage when we shed an American life. We all regret when any kind of innocent life is taken. We don’t take this job gently. And I understand that each one of you comprehend the size of what we do and the stakes involved as well as these typically aren’t abstractions and also we’re not cavalier concerning just what we do.”

The deaths of the two people, who were kept as hostages by the terror outfit, came as a fresh setback for the long-running program of US drone strike, which intends to combat terror groups in Afghanistan Pakistan and other parts of world. The program has often witnessed criticism in those countries as well as from civil liberties groups in the US.

The American President also said that the government has ordered a full review of the matter in order to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in future.

“I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families,” Obama said.

Among the deceased hostages who lost their lives in the January drone strike were aid workers Giovanni Lo Porto and Warren Weinstein. While Porto was an Italian who went missing in 2012 in Pakistan, Weinstein was an American national who was held as hostage by al Qaeda since 2011.

Adam Gadahn, an al Qaeda member in the US who was charged with treason in the country, was killed in a separate drone strike carried on an al Qaeda camp five days later.

US presidential candidates Cruz, Perry head for Vegas to woo Donors

April 25, 2015 By Doyle Buehler Leave a Comment

US presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Rick Perry have headed for Las Vegas for seeking support of the Jewish donors for their White House bid in the 2016 election.

According to the political analysts, Cruz and Perry will leave no stone unturned to explain their loyalty to the political defense of Israel. They will also woo the donors by showing their opposition against the government policies related to nuclear Iran set by President Barack Obama’s administration.

The reports show that the donor groups are divided over Bush, Cruz, Rubio and Walker, and the buildup of consensus appears difficult in the future.

Republican Jewish Coalition spokesperson Mark McNulty said that the Jewish donors are not only considering their support for Israel but also their effort as well as commitment in the face of the poll.

Among all the candidates, Cruz has been most consistent in backing Israel.

At the Republican Jewish Coalition Spring Leadership Meeting, Republican super-donor Sheldon Adelson will emerge as the most coveted prizes.

Both Cruz and Perry will try to prove their longstanding support for Israel. They will also attempt to underscore their skepticism towards Obama’s nuclear agreements with Iran.

At Saturday’s meeting, both Cruz and Perry will get a golden opportunity to address the potential donors and make a strong pitch for their candidature in their appeal to prominent Jewish donors nationwide.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and former New York Governor George Pataki will be the other Republicans having presidential aspirations to attend the event.

US announces new regulation to prevent offshore rigs Explosions

April 13, 2015 By Kyle Mills Leave a Comment

US president Barack Obama-led government on Monday announced a new proposal to regulate offshore oil and gas rigs in order to improve the standards of equipments and the designs of wells, while giving due consideration to avoid a catastrophic spill just like the one occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in the year 2010.

Interior secretary Sally Jewell said, “Unfortunately, some of our regulations have not kept pace with the speed of innovation. I believe these regulations will enable us to both grow the economy and protect our resources.”

The announcement comes at a time when the Obama administration is taking innovative steps to open up new federal water areas off the Atlantic Coast for the purpose of drilling. Notably, the government’s decision to carry out drilling projects along the coastline has infuriated the environmentalists.

Jewell said that the new rule aims to balance the business interests with the concerns raised by the environmentalists.

According to the government officials, the newly proposed regulation was developed following rigorous consultation with industry representatives, environmental experts, academicians and others people from the related field.

The government has asked for feedback from the public within 60 days on the regulation after which the US Interior Department will revise the proposal for final its enactment.

As per the estimates of the Interior Department, the new standard would cost a total of USD 883 million to around 90 companies over a period of 10 years.

White House gears up to explore about climate-related health problem

April 8, 2015 By Jeff Suchon Leave a Comment

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday launched an initiative in order to underscore the nexus between the climate change and public health, bringing the data and medical experts to the White House this week.

The White House is going to hold a Climate Change and Health Summit later this spring. The event will witness the presence of leading lights from the health sector, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

The Obama administration is carrying expansion of its Climate Data Initiative, which was launched by the government last year, for the inclusion of over 150 health-relevant data sets.

Addressing a group at Howard University, Obama said that the warmer temperature conditions excessively contribute to several health problems, including asthma. The rising temperature increases the formation of smog pollutants. It also contributes in fuelling wildfires with the emission of soot or fine particles into the air.

“And so there are a whole host of public health impacts that are going to hit home. So we’ve got to do better in protecting vulnerable Americans. Ultimately, though, all of our families are going to be vulnerable. You can’t cordon yourself off from air or from climate,” Obama told the gathering which was attended by Horward’s College of Medicine Dean Edward E. Cornwell, III and Tyra Bryant-Stephens, responsible for directing the community asthma prevention program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The White House on Tuesday announced that a coalition of 30 deans, public health and nursing schools will together work for training the students to address the health impacts of the climate change.

The universities working for the cause include the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, the University of Nebraska and the Harvard University.

The US Global Change Research Program is also set to release a draft Climate and Health Assessment report detailing how the public health is impacted by changes in the air quality, weather conditions and vector-borne ailments.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to release an “Adaptation in Action Report” on Tuesday in order to highlight the actions taken by the state and local leaders in order to reduce the health impacts of global warming in San Francisco, New York, Minnesota, Maine, Michigan, Arizona, California and New York state.

US appeals court denies plea challenging 2012 Obama deportation relief

April 8, 2015 By Stephanie James Leave a Comment

A petition challenging US President Barack Obama’s 2012 executive action for providing relief to the immigrants from the deportation threat was turned down by a US appeals court on Tuesday. The court upheld a lower court’s prior ruling into the case.

A panel constituting the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals from New Orleans found that the plaintiffs in the case- a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and the state of Mississippi that are disappointed by the directives of White House- had not shown that they had been harmed by the rule for keeping the case alive.

“We conclude that neither the agents nor the state of Mississippi has demonstrated the concrete and particularized injury required to give them standing to maintain this suit,” said the decision.

The decision comes at a time when the same appellate court has prepared to hear the appeal of Obama administration over challenging a landmark immigration overhaul launched last year that would allow approximately 4.7 million illegal immigrants stay without deportation threat.

In February, the overhaul was put on hold after a federal Texas judge ruled that the Democratic President had failed to provide adequate public notice for his plans.

A federal district court judge had earlier rejected the case. The court had, however, discovered that the ICE agents had standing as plaintiffs.

Obama announces solar power training program for 75,000 workers

April 4, 2015 By Stephanie James Leave a Comment

In a bid to promote solar power as an economic fuel, US President Barack Obama on Friday announced a training program of 75,000 workers under the US Division of Power by the year 2020.

The training of workers will be carried on such a large scale in order to fill up the vacancies in the growing solar energy market. Moreover, the initiative is also being seen as a strategy against the degrading climatic conditions and global warming as the renewable solar energy will be harvested for various purposes rather than opting for fossil fuel burning, one of the activities that add to the emissions of greenhouse gases.

Nearly 30,000 jobs were added from 2013 to 2014 in the solar market industry. Experts believe an additional of 36,000 more jobs in the sector this year will further bolster the federal effort for reducing the rate of unemployment in the country as well as cut down the use of non-renewable source of energy, such as fossil fuel.

This week, the Obama administration announced its plans to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 28 percent lower than 2005 levels, a significant feat within a ten-year period.

The federal government will encourage solar energy market as well as business by raising its workforce.

Around 400 community colleges countrywide will be given responsibility to train and re-train the students and instructors to use and maximize their use for home as well as industrial purposes.

Ted Cruz may consider Obamacare, a law he want to scrap, for his family

March 25, 2015 By Doyle Buehler

GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who announced his election bid officially just two days back, is looking for health insurance and could soon be buying a health care coverage for his family through the Affordable Care Act, the health care program which he has vowed to dismantle.

Cruz, the Texas Republican whose Senate filibuster against President Barack Obama’s health care law caused a partial government shutdown in 2013, is considering a health insurance program for his wife, Heidi Cruz, who has gone on an unpaid leave from her job at Goldman Sachs in Houston after he revealed his election ambitions officially.

As Mrs. Cruz will remain on unpaid leave, the family would soon require an alternate health insurance policy.

Texas’ first-term senator said that he is exploring the options available on a health insurance exchange or a clearing house of policies for those Americans who don’t receive coverage by their employers. The health care law introduced by the Obama administration, which is commonly known as Obamacare, created the exchange system.

In an interview to The Des Moines Register, Cruz said, “We will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health care, and we’re in the process of transitioning over to do that.”

With Cruz’s wife staying on unpaid leave, the family could go without insurance, or prefer its coverage directly from an insurance firm that would be at far more higher rate than available through an exchange.

Doing so means Mrs. Cruz would not enjoy the contribution from his employer.

Responding over the issue, Cruz’s spokesman Rick Tyler said that the family had not yet decided whether to consider an option or the financial impacts of such a choice.

“Let them make a decision on what coverage they’ll get before we start speculating on every variable,” the spokesperson said.

On Monday, Cruz opened his election campaign speech with a pledge to dismantle the health care law.

Obama announces USD 240 mn in new funds to boost STEM education program

March 24, 2015 By Stephanie James

US President Barack Obama on Monday launched over USD 240 million in new commitments for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education program at the fifth annual White House Science Fair.

A White House news release said: “The new private sector commitments are designed to inspire and prepare more girls and boys — especially those from underrepresented groups — to excel in the STEM fields. With the commitments being made today, the President’s campaign called “Educate to Innovate” has resulted in more than USD 1 billion in financial and in-kind support for STEM programs.”

The new philanthropic effort will be led by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Simons Foundation.

The organizations will unveil a Faculty Scholars Program with nearly USD 150 million over five years.

The program intends to support the early career scientists with valuable resources as well as interactions and proper mentoring in an initiative to empower recipients in the STEM education program.

“The effort aim at encouraging students to pursue new and exciting research directions, to ask new questions, and do the types of high-risk, high-reward research that can lead to scientific breakthroughs,” the White House said in a press release.

The USD 90 million effort, which is called “Let Everyone Dream”, will primarily focus on encouraging as well as inspiring more students, especially from underrepresented groups, to make a remarkable career in STEM subjects.

Some of the major components of the initiative include a media campaign that will be focused on youths and their families for the expansion of STEM opportunities for the underrepresented people and encouraging their association with higher education.

The participating companies in the “Let Everyone Dream” initiative are: Motorola, Epix, Televisa, 3M, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), City University of New York and others.

List of other initiatives:

A commitment from universities and colleges for training 20,000 engineers to take on challenges of 21st century.
A competition from the Department of Education worth USD 25 million seeking new media with themes of literacy and science in order to encourage student exploration.
A coalition of CEOs eyeing expansion of effective Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs to an additional 150 million students this year.

The interested people can avail more information about the White House Science Fair at whitehouse.gov/science-fair.

Science Fair: Obama to encourage students to opt for STEM study program

March 23, 2015 By Stephanie James

In a bid to encourage students from underrepresented groups to make their career in science & tech, US President Barack Obama will be highlighting the advantages of pursuing education in science, technology, engineering and math also elaborating upon the efforts taken by the private-sector in enriching the field.

Obama will be addressing the White House Science Fair on Monday where over 35 teams of student will put their projects on display.

At the event, the President will announce over USD 240 million in pledges in a bid to bolster the education system in these fields, which is commonly known as STEM.

The theme of this year’s White House Science Fair is focused on diversity.

According to the sources, Obama will talk about the new commitments that have brought the total material and financial support for these programs to USD 1 billion.

The pledges slated to be announced by the President include a USD 150 million effort by the philanthropists to encourage the promising scientists who are in their early-career to stay on track and a USD 90 million expansion campaign for STEM opportunities to the youths, mainly minorities and girls, belonging to the underrepresented class.

Over 100 universities and colleges have be committal to training 20,000 engineers, while a team of chief executive officials have promised expansion of high-quality education programs in STEM to cater an additional 1.5 million students in 2015.

In 2009, Obama had unveiled “Educate to Innovate” program as an effort to boost education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Obama bats for mandatory voting, terms it ‘potentially transformative’

March 19, 2015 By Stephanie James

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday floated the idea of mandatory voting in the country, saying it would serve as a ‘potentially transformative’ step towards revamping the political and democratic system of the United States.

The President made the remark while addressing a civic group in Cleveland on Wednesday.

When asked about the money influence during the elections in the United States, Obama underscored the issues in the voting system and related laws in the US that are barring the people, mostly younger generation, from participating in the electoral processes. He said that the country should work efficiently in direction of making it easier for the Americans to exercise their voting rights.

Calling the mandatory voting “potentially transformative”, Obama said, “If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country. Not only that but universal voting would counteract money more than anything.”

Obama said the reports suggest that Americans who skip the elections are disproportionately younger, lower-income, less literate and generally immigrants or minorities.

“There’s a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls,” the President said in an indirect reference to the process of voter identification and related laws in several states in the country.

As per the figures of United States Election Project, less than 37 percent of eligible voters excercised their franchise during the mid-term polls in 2014. According to a Pew Research Center study, those who opted out of the polls last year were mostly younger, less educated, poorer, and more racially diverse class.

At least two dozen nations, including Argentina, Belgium and Brazil, have some form of compulsory voting laws. In several systems, the absconders are stringently asked to provide valid reason for their absence or face a fine. There are few nations that have laws on the books allowing for potential imprisonment.

Categories