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Huntsman lashes out at Obama, GOP rivals, offers reform plan
Insisting that "the American people are getting screwed," Jon Huntsman Jr. took off the nice-guy gloves at a National Press Club Newsmaker appearance Dec. 8 to blast President Barack Obama and his chief rivals for the GOP presidential nomination. The former Utah governor and ambassador to China tried to boost his low standings in the polls by taking direct aim at the leading GOP primary candidates, calling Mitt Romney the "panderer-in-chief" and Newt Gingrich "lobbyist-in-chief." Appearing at a quickly arranged Newsmaker, Huntsman said Americans face two great deficits: A huge federal deficit…
Type: News
Palestinians won't abandon drive for full UN membership, says chief U.S. representative
Palestinians will push for full membership as a state in the United Nations while continuing their non-violent protests of the wall Israel built, said Maen Rashid Areikat, chief representative of the Delegation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in the United States, at a Dec. 6 Newsmaker. Areikat lamented what he called U.S. pressure on other countries to delay UN membership. Areikat acknowledged the continuing struggle between Hamas and Fatah in representing the Palestinians. But he said that is an "internal" affair unrelated to Israel. "We've got full membership in UNESCO,"…
Type: News
Mid-Atlantic wind transmission project gaining momentum, developers claim
Supporters of a massive East Coast offshore wind energy transmission project laid out an optimistic timetable for the effort at a Nov. 30 Newsmaker. They said a major announcement about the permitting process could come from the Interior Department soon. Still, the project will face many months, possibly years, of review by federal and state agencies before actual construction can begin. Project developer Bob Mitchell said he was “feeling very bullish” about the Atlantic Wind Connection, which could deliver high-voltage direct current from wind towers spanning approximately 350 miles of…
Type: News
Grandson tells of journalist's exposing Soviet-caused Ukraine famine
The grandson of Gareth Jones, a Welsh journalist who exposed the Soviet Union's man-made "Holomodor", a famine that killed six to 10 million people in the now former Soviet republic of Ukraine and neighboring areas in 1932-33, presented a behind-the-scenes look at his grandfather's reporting on the tragedy at a Nov. 21 Newsmaker. Western journalists were restricted by the Soviet government, but Nigel Colley told how his grandfather, then a 28-year-old stringer, defied Soviet censors and military to get into once-fertile Ukraine, visiting ghost towns and interviewing famine survivors and other…
Type: News
Postmaster General: Post Office needs to cut $20 billion to survive
The survival of the U.S. Postal Service depends on Congress giving it the latitude to cut its costs by $20 billion, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said at a Nov. 21 National Press Club luncheon. Donahoe said the system "lost more than $5 billion" in the most recent fiscal year and could go broke without congressional action. He said the organization needs to achieve $20 billion in savings by 2015, a move that would require closing as many as 3,500 low-perfoming post offices and possibly ending Saturday delivery. Although he expressed gratitude for what he calls strong congressional…
Type: News
Economic ties build foundation to address security concerns, Russians tell Nov. 18 Newsmaker
The United States and Russia must develop a strong economic relationship in order to address nuclear and terrorism issues, according to two Russian businessmen and a retired general who spoke at a Nov. 18 Newsmaker. Retired Gen. Victor Yesin, former chief of staff of the Strategic Nuclear Missiles Department of the Soviet Ministry of Defense, said the United States and Russia "must have strong economic ties, because without that, we cannot have strong political ties." Yesin and the Russian business officials came to Washington as part of a larger group to meet with their U.S. counterparts and…
Type: News
Former Mexican governor upbeat for July presidential elections
The former governor of the State of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto said Tuesday he was ready to compete "with anyone," in the upcoming Mexican presidential elections. Peña Nieto said as president he would push for the country's economic growth. Calling it a mutually dependent equation, Peña Nieto said security comes with economic growth and in turn, secure environs promote more economic prosperity. “If we really want to pay attention to security, education and health, we need to grow first," he said. Peña Nieto, the candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party, known by its Spanish acronym…
Type: News
Saudi prince criticizes Obama over Palestinian UN bid
Saudi Arabian Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saudi criticized President Obama for not backing the Palestinian bid for UN recognition and said it would lead to frustration in the Middle East. Obama contradicted his support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians when he threatened to thwart any move by the Palestinians to have full voting rights at the UN, Al-Faisal said at a Nov 10 Newsmaker event at the National Press Club. Obama's position will not only "cause disappointment" in the Arab world, but will provoke anger and frustration by people who feel they "have been let…
Type: News
Communities must help returning veterans and their families, Camp Better America founders say
Communities should make an organized effort to connect with military veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, Kathleen Gagg, co-founder of Camp Better America, said at a Press Club Newsmaker Nov. 15. Col. David Sutherland, special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Warrior and Family Support at the Department of Defense, said that a holistic, partner-centric approach is needed to provide veterans and their families with education, adequate employment, and access to health care. Sutherland added that resources for veterans should be synchronized at the local level.…
Type: News
'Ink on paper' sells to hundreds at wildly successful 34th NPC Book Fair
Move over Kindle. The turnout for Tuesday’s 34th annual Book & Authors Night proved that ink on paper is alive and well in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of people carrying green and white shopping bags filled with cookbooks, children’s picture books, political works and biographies worked their way through the tables, stopping to talk to the authors who signed their books. What America needs more of besides authors are “readers and purchasers of books,’’ Jim Lehrer, honorary chairman of the evening said at a reception for authors and sponsors before the three-hour event. “We are all here…
Type: News