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I am embarrassed .... how about you ??
I guess since this was not a fund raiser or an opportunity to
display his so-called oratorical brilliance, it was not an important enough
event for Barack Obama to attend. You know him, the president-when-he-is-in-the-mood-for-it of the United States?
This was the march by an estimated 1.5 million people along the
Boulevard Voltaire in Paris, France, in
a demonstration Sunday meant to illustrate the power of unity and freedom of
expression over the barbarism of Islamic fanaticism and terror. With seventeen
victims dead in France, French President François Hollande, arm-in-arm with
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and a host of European
and African leaders led the march. Some say they understand why Emperor Obama
was not present, but admit he should not have prevented the vice president, the
secretary of state or even the attorney general, who actually already was in
Paris, to take part in this expression of sympathy for the victims and outrage
at the perpetrators. I am not so generous. I am angered and embarrassed. I
think Obama -- any U.S. president, no matter what his name -- should have been in the midst of the march and that his absence is
just one more demonstration that Obama has no character, no dignity, no
intestinal fortitude, no moral integrity and is an absolute megalomaniac. Beyond his
failures as a man, as a leader, as a president, at some point someone will have
to become hard core vs. the assorted "barbarians at the gates." Maybe, that
will happen now, but do not count on an Obama Administration to lead the way.
Incidentally, the photograph comes from AFP/Getty Images. I hope they will forgive me for "borrowing
it" as a professional courtesy to someone who spent sixteen years here
and there as a journalist, and had some super "journalistic moments" running alongside some
super photographers. I would have loved to have been in Paris for this event, both as
a journalist and as a human being. As for the music, here are a singer and a painter who, unlike most alive today, understood while they lived and, as the "Old Greeks" once knew, that art = the creation of beauty.
10 comments:
Ok.May be he was sick???Lol.The Obama thing hihiih
One never knows..or may be he was afraid for some terrorist attack with so many high prominent people together :)
3,5 millions in France for Charlie:)))Bravo!
When anders Bering killed 98 young ones (political people)here..Nothing happened..may be because he was our own..citizen
A man I consider to be a genuine intellect and political expert/insider commented today that he thought Barack Obama, like most in the civilized world, was appalled by the Charlie Hebdo murders .... but, that Obama personally did not like the magazine because of its past portrayals of Islam and Mohammed, and really did not want to display public sympathy by attending the rally in Paris.
I labeled Obama a megalomaniac in this post and have referred to him as a pathological liar and as the "Narcissist in Chief" in the past, and I do think he is all these things, which means his actions and his reactions to events are pretty much unpredictable. I think his actions on this occasion reveal to the world what many Americans have come to realize during the past six years: Obama is a hollow, empty man with no foundation in American history and a warped vision of where he wants America to be in the future.
As for events like this, there always have been fanatics, those who suffer from mental disorders and individuals who simply are evil. Societies have to cope with them as best they are able.
Thank you, Anita, for your visit and your comment.
Hey Fram, I agree with you - the leaders here in North America should have been there also because not only was/is a terrible threat to France and free speach - it is a threat to our way of life - and North America is included in this fatwa. Canada's PM was also not there and I am disappointed in that because the main point of the march was to show solidarity. The only thing I can say about this is that it is what I expected of Harper. Saying that I am not a fan of our leader is an understatement. I must admit, in the case of Obama, I am surprised that he wasn't there or represented; in the case of Harper I am disappointed but not surprised.
That said, and not to take away from the topic of your post, but to interject another related point swirling in my brain at the moment, relates to disappointment with the free press and our global society at large.
We were/are still so very focused on what is going on in Paris and the assault on the free world which happened there - and we comparatively ignore the plight of other massacres which have happened in Africa and elsewhere in less economically developed areas. The recent slaughter of the folks in Nigeria on Jan 9th (150 - 2,000 bodies depending upon which reports you read) received so little press coverage, so little of our grief and more importantly so little of our help to recognize and fight the Boko Haram, even many months ago when it was "only" 200 girls and our attention was not diverted to Paris.
There are other examples of how we little value the lives of people the 3rd world countries. I understand why the Paris attack has grabbed so much attention, resources and our tears, but it isn't right - so I am disappointed.
I had said (to myself) a few days ago that I did not think the events in Paris would have drawn nearly the attention they did if (1) journalists had not been at the center of the story and (2) had it occurred in a city other than Paris. Rome, probably; London, maybe. But Madrid, Berlin, Stockholm .... not nearly so much attention. Paris, after all (pardon the allusion), is another "mecca" in many ways for many people.
As for journalists (especially television types and those who see themselves on the "cutting edge"), many have the same disease which afflicts most politicians, actors and rock musicians: An overpowering sense of self-importance and manner of self-aggrandizement.
The bottom line is that you are right, Peggy. Too often, the tragedies which receive the most attention and the most news coverage are determined unequally. The tens of thousands murdered in Syria during the past three or four years and the plight of the Kurds in Iraq are more examples of the inequity you cite. I doubt the world will ever change in this regard.
I do not know enough about the Canadian political situation or your Prime Minister Stephen Harper to have an opinion in that sense, but the reaction of Barack Obama to the Paris incident should not be a surprise to anyone. The callousness of a president who will not even say where he was or what he was doing while four Americans were being murdered in Benghazi and their pleas for help were being ignored or who goes on a golf outing mere minutes after announcing an American journalist had been beheaded by Islamic fanatics cannot be overstated or misinterpreted. He is a power-hungry con man without a conscience, and history will recognize that even if his followers are incapable of seeing beyond the end of their noses.
Thank you, Peggy, for coming to visit me and for leaving your words here. You can tell, I think, that you shook the cobwebs loose in my mind today !!
I'll be brief and to the point. Shame on him. Next week my Sunday post will be about the whole Charlie issue. And it won't be a black and white one. Too many people have too many opinions about things they know nothing about. But for Obama to miss this event and then send Kerry mid-week... Sorry, pal, you lost the crowd.
Greetings from London.
I am eager for next Sunday to arrive: Spring will be a week nearer, the pathway of my life might be a bit more clear and I am eager to read your views and opinions about the "Charlie episode," CiL.
As for Barack Obama, his actions/reactions remind me of a once-popular cliché among high school boys in this neck of the woods: "His mind is made up; do not confuse him with the facts."
It is nice to see you here, CiL. Thank you.
I like your post to Peggy Fram:))
Well, thank you, very much, Anita. And, thank you again, just for being here ....
Nessa postagem eu consegui ouvir a musica. Linda a canção gostei muito.
Curiosa a imagem!
Fica bem Fram!
Uma boa noite!
Well, you promised you would catch up with my posts that you missed during your absence from the blogs, and here you are, Smareis. It really was not necessary, but it is very sweet of you to do so. Thank you, and thank you for being you ....
Yes, it is a very good night.
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