General Politics Discussion Topic [closed]

Originally posted by wtshnnfb01:Middle East seems to be going to hell faster than usual.

Originally posted by yuri31:[..]

Lots of violence in Russia recently, too.

Originally posted by MWSAH:[YouTube Video]

Originally posted by Risto:And they knew this, tried to drown wikileaks with bad press and lawsuits.

Anyone who wants to guess why the USA has a bad image?

Originally posted by Guardian

Gordon Brown confirms 6 May general election date

Prime minister asks Queen to dissolve parliament and says Labour will make 'big decisions' to secure future of British economy

Gordon Brown today announced that the general election will be held on 6 May and told voters Labour would make the "big decisions" that would secure the future of the British economy.

Speaking outside No 10 Downing Street, the Labour leader made a personal appeal to the public, citing the "middle-class" values of his background.

"I know where I came from, and I will never forget the values ... that my parents instilled in me," he said.

"I'm asking you, the British people, for a clear and straightforward mandate to continue the urgent and hard work [of] securing the recovery, building our industries for the future, and creating a million skilled jobs over the next five years."

Brown said Labour had already got the "big decisions" right in the face of the world recession and would continue to do so in order to avert the risk of a "double-dip recession".

"Britain is on the road to recovery, and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk," he said.

He promised to protect frontline public services and offer support to the armed forces.

Brown also said he would announce plans, in the coming days, to reform parliament in order to regain "public trust" – a reference to the MPs' expenses scandal.

"The future is within our grasp. It's a future fair for all. Now, all of us, let us get to it," he concluded.

Confirmation of the date – the worst-kept secret in politics – marks the start of the official election campaign. Exchanges between the parties became increasingly acrimonious in recent days ahead of the anticipated announcement.

The Conservatives and Labour have clashed repeatedly over Labour's proposed 1% increase in national insurance and Tory plans to partially reverse the rise.

The economy is set to be the key battleground in the election, with Labour claiming the Conservative plans, which would be funded by a £6bn cut in government spending, would jeopardise the economic recovery.

The Tories pointed to the backing of business leaders for their plans to cut national insurance.

Earlier, Brown met his cabinet before making the trip to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to dissolve parliament.

The leaders of all three major parties are on the campaign trail today. Brown's first stop is at a Morrison's supermarket in the home counties.

David Cameron launched the Conservatives' campaign outside County Hall, in London, telling supporters the election, the most important "for a generation", was about "the future of our economy, the future of our society. It's about the future of our country".

He offered voters "a fresh start this country, our country, so badly needs".

"You don't have to put up with another five years of Gordon Brown," he said, adding that he was fighting the election for the "great ignored" of the country.

"Let us get off this road to ruin and instead get on the path to prosperity and progress," he said.

He will visit a hospital in Birmingham later today before addressing a campaign event in Leeds. The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, is talking to young people at a YMCA in Watford.

Clegg said the Lib Dems were offering "the choice people were lacking under a succession of Labour and Conservative governments".

Following Brown's confirmation of polling day, the BBC, Sky and ITV announced the dates for their three live leaders' debates – the first in a British general election.

The first of the 90-minute debates will be screened on ITV on Thursday 15 April, the next by Sky on 22 April and the last by the BBC on 29 April.

Today's announcement came as three opinion polls, the results of which were released today, delivered mixed messages.

While a YouGov poll in the Sun and an Opinium poll in the Express both gave the Conservatives a 10-point lead, an ICM poll in the Guardian had the Tory lead down to four points, which, if replicated on 6 May, would leave Labour as the largest party but short of an overall majority.

2010/04/06, guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010

Originally posted by MWSAH:[..]

Stuf flike this happens every day but I can't agree with the way they act here.
'He has an RPG!', while that man was putting his camera with telelens on the ground.

Anyway, it's war so things like this happen but that doesn't say it was needed. Lifes could have been saved.

Originally posted by BBC
US and Russian leaders hail nuclear arms treaty
US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, have signed a landmark nuclear arms treaty in the Czech capital, Prague.

The treaty commits the former Cold War enemies to each reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 - 30% lower than the previous ceiling.

Mr Obama said it was an important milestone, but "just one step on a longer journey" of nuclear disarmament.

Mr Medvedev said the deal would create safer conditions throughout the world.

If ratified by lawmakers in both countries, the treaty will replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) of 1991, which has expired.

Missile defence

The US and Russian leaders signed the New Start treaty at a ceremony attended by hundreds of officials in the lavishly decorated Spanish Hall of Prague Castle, the Czech president's residence.

Under the pact, each side is allowed a maximum of 1,550 warheads, about 30% lower than the 2002 Moscow Treaty.

It also limits the number of deployed delivery vehicles - ballistic missiles and heavy bombers - to no more than 700. However, each bomber counts as one warhead irrespective of the fact that it might carry multiple bombs or missiles.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, President Obama said the treaty demonstrated that both countries had halted the deterioration in their relations, which had prevented agreement on mutually important issues in the past.

"When the United States and Russia are not able to work together on big issues, it's not good for either of our nations, nor is it good for the world. Together we've stopped that drift and proven the benefits of co-operation," he added.

Mr Obama said the pact was "an important milestone for nuclear security and non-proliferation" and set the stage for further arms cuts.

"While the New Start treaty is an important first step forward, it is just one step on a longer journey. This treaty will set the stage for further cuts, and going forward, we hope to pursue discussions with Russia on reducing both our strategic and tactical weapons, including non-deployed weapons."

He said the talks would cover missile defence, threat assessments, and the completion of a joint assessment of emerging ballistic missiles.

For his part, President Medvedev said the negotiating process had not been simple, but the treaty represented a "win-win situation" that would enhance strategic stability and bilateral relations.

good," he said. "We have got a document that fully maintains the balance of interests between Russia and the US. The main thing is that there are no victors or losers here."

But Mr Medvedev said disagreements remained with the US over its plans for a missile defence shield, which have been modified since Mr Obama came to office.

On Tuesday, Russia's foreign minister warned that it could abandon it "if a quantitative and qualitative build-up of the US strategic anti-missile potential begins to significantly affect the efficiency of Russia's strategic forces".

It was Moscow's concerns over Washington's plans to base interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic that helped delay the new treaty. President Obama shelved the idea in September, although new plans include ground-based interceptor missiles in Romania.

The White House has said it hopes and expects the US Senate to ratify the New Start treaty this year. Senate ratification requires 67 votes, which means it must include Republicans.

The Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, must also approve the treaty, but as long as the Kremlin supports it, ratification there is expected to be a formality.

Disarmament vision

BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus, who is in Prague, says the real significance of this deal is that it marks a warming of US-Russian ties and heralds, perhaps, tougher Russian action on Iran's nuclear programme.

It also gives Mr Obama a disarmament success that he hopes will strengthen his hand at next month's review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), our correspondent says.

An overhaul of the 40-year-old pact is seen as the central pillar of the US president's efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

However, much more significant cuts in long-range nuclear weapons could take years of negotiation with the Russians, who do not share Mr Obama's ambitious disarmament vision, our correspondent says.

Nuclear weapons are in fact looming larger in Russia's security equation at a time when their role in US strategic thinking is becoming more circumscribed, he adds.

On Tuesday, President Obama unveiled the new Nuclear Posture Review, which narrows the circumstances in which the US would use nuclear weapons.

"The United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states that are party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and in compliance with their nuclear non-proliferation obligations," it said.

Countries which the US regards not complying with the NPT, including Iran and North Korea, will not be spared a nuclear response.

North Korea pulled out of the NPT in 2003, while the US claims Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies.

Mr Obama also pledged not to develop any new nuclear weapons, a move pushed through in the face of resistance by the Pentagon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8607985.stm