Sink writes: "President Obama on Tuesday declined to commit to raising the issue of a jailed Saudi opposition blogger while visiting the kingdom to offer condolences following the death of King Abdullah."
President Obama with the new Saudi leader, King Salman, on Tuesday. (photo: Stephen Crowley/NYT)
ALSO SEE: Obama, Bipartisan Leaders in Saudi Arabia to Express Condolences for Deceased King
ALSO SEE: Decapitation Marks the Beginning of Saudi King Salman Reign
Obama Refuses to Bring Up Human Rights Abuses During Visit to Saudi Arabia
27 January 15
resident Obama on Tuesday declined to commit to raising the issue of a jailed Saudi opposition blogger while visiting the kingdom to offer condolences following the death of King Abdullah.
�I think on this visit, a lot of this is just paying respects to King Abdullah, who in his own fashion represented some modest reform efforts within the kingdom,� Obama said in an interview with CNN.
The president said the U.S. had �maintained a sustained dialogue with the Saudis and all the other countries that we�ve worked with� on human rights issues.
�What I�ve found is effective is to apply steady, consistent pressure, even as we are getting business done that needs to get done,� Obama said.
�Oftentimes, that makes some of our allies uncomfortable; it makes them frustrated. Sometimes, we have to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns that we have in terms of countering terrorism or dealing with regional stability.�
Raif Badawi, the blogger, has generated international attention after his arrest and conviction for writing about the kingdom�s religious law. Badawi received the first 50 of his 1,000 lashes earlier this week, but additional physical punishment has been postponed because of medical concerns.
Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes also sidestepped when asked if Obama would raise Badawi�s case earlier this week.
�Without knowing exactly what the extent of the meetings and consultations will be and what the precise agenda will be, I can�t speak to individual cases,� he said. �But I think it will certainly be the case that human rights will be on the agenda with Saudi Arabia going forward, and we raise these types of individual case with Saudi Arabia on a regular basis.�
Administration officials have said that they do plan to raise both joint efforts against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the instability in Yemen during Obama�s visit with the new King Salman.
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Here's the real list of groups that control our elections and our politicians.
https://itep.org/corporate-tax-avoidance-in-the-first-year-of-the-trump-tax-law/
Where is Farafalla? His smoking gun has now appeared. So it may be that everyone who disagrees with him is getting paid -- $50 per RSN post! Gee, with that kind of money, maybe I could buy something.
Point is Russia, Russia, Russia indeed meddling again in the election.
Point is, it's Russia meddling in the election again. And you continue to be a pro-Putin operative.
BTW: Are you still anti-vax or did you back off from that?
It depends on the vaccine and who's pushing it. If Gates is pushing it, then I'm against it. Too bad there isn't a vaccine against Gates.
In general, vaccines are very good. In most cases they are miracle drugs that have really improved the quality of life for a huge number of people. But the vaccine business has become tainted by capitalist profiteers who are not creating vaccines just for the money that is in the. They have also persuaded (i.e., bribed) congress to absolve vaccine makers of all liability for damages that vaccines may cause. I'm against that.
I am also very skpetical of the high number of vaccines given to babies and small children. I think the work done by Robert F. Kennedy and the Children's Health Defense is very good. They are not anti-vax just pro-good science.
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/just-many-shots-cdc-schedule/
Russian sources that Russians write for and read?
Sources in other countries' media that print Russians' opinions?
Opinions printed in U. S. media with acknowledged ('left or right wing') stances?
Articles attributed to American commentators or U.S intelligence 'leaks' in American main stream media?
Letters from acquaintances, Russian, American, or other countries, who have lived or traveled in Russia recently? My own memories are outdated and rusty.
Or what sources?
The same questions, of course, can be asked of other countries.
Why would Russia even bother? Do they think Americas need help figuring out that the police are shooting us?
The original Russiagate was long ago debunked and the newer stuff bountygate and vaccinegate laughably unproven and also debunked. But just wait until Trump's tax returns prove that he's been getting money from the Russians all along!...oh, nevermind.
Not on Russian interference though. We got a couple of stooges right here in this thread. Give up. You lost that argument.
Re Russiagate there never was a discussion, let alone and arguement. The intelligence services offered unsubstantiated stories the mainstream media presented as fact, and repeated ad nasium. Any journalist who questioned the Trump/Putin narriative -- and there were many-- were not given a forum to be heard: no MSNBC guest slot, no NYT opinion column, no the Atlantic magazine article...
But as years went by proof was conspicuously abscent from every accusation, so (nothing) new accusations are substituted.
The Nation's journalist Aaron Mate, on YouTube at The Greyzone, has successfully dismissed Russiagate piece by piece. Try him. You may be surprised.