Editorial cartoons lambast the President.......
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/09/barack-obama-us-putin-russia
( When Obama tells whoopers , he has a shameful child's liar look written all over his face ! )
President Barack Obama speaks at a news conference at the White House. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
President Barack Obama said on Friday it was appropriate for the US to pause and reassess its relationship with Russia, in the face of anti-America rhetoric and "backwards" thinking from President Vladimir Putin. Addressing the downturn in relations between Washington and Moscow, Obama noted that there were several issues of concern, not just the recent extradition spat over NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"There are a number of emerging differences we have seen in recent months around Syria, around human rights," he said.
Obama's comments came as leading government figures from both sides met in Washington to discuss a series of issues. The so-called 2+2 meeting – between US secretary of state John Kerry, defence secretaryChuck Hagel and their Russian counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu – took place after days of recriminations over Moscow's decision to grant Snowden asylum.
Earlier this week, Obama announced the cancellation of a summit in Moscow next month. That meeting, between two leaders who have had an uneasy relationship in the past, had been expected to be a chance for both sides to work on resetting diplomatic ties. Instead, the cancellation of talks has merely underlined the distance between the former Cold War foes.
Emerging from the top diplomatic meetings on Friday, Washington and Moscow officals pointed towards areas of cooperation. "Edward Snowden did not overshadow our discussions," Lavrov told reporters, adding that the issue did not affect "mainstream" US-Russian relations.
Kerry added that the meeting was important "above and beyond the collisions and the moments of disagreement".
Afterwards, Washington officials said that the talks had been "positive and constructive throughout". But they added that the issue of Snowdon's asylum had come up and that the US delegation had reiterated its displeasure.
In a near hour-long press conference at the White House, Obama was more stark in his assessment of current US-Russian relations.
"Frankly, on a whole range of issues where we think we can make some progress, Russia has not moved," he said. "I've encouraged Mr Putin to think forward rather than backwards on those issues with mixed success."
Obama went on to note that since Putin returned as president of Russia, there had been an upturn in anti-American rhetoric. The president added that he did not have a "bad personal relationship" with Putin, despite the body language sometimes employed by Putin when the pair meet. "He has that kinda slouch, like a bored kid at the back of the classroom," Obama noted.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/08/white-house-rejects-calls-boycott-olympics
( Big money surely told Obama - play your little games , but don't mess with the Billions of Dollars Olympic Games rackets generate ! )
John Kerry and Chuck Hagel will still meet with their Russian counterparts for discussions at the State Department on Friday. Photograph: Fadi Arouri/AFP
The White House shot down calls for a US boycott of the Sochi winter Olympics on Thursday as it tried to draw a line under recent disputes with Russia ahead of ministerial talks scheduled in Washington.
Amid concerns that this week's decision to cancel a planned presidential summit had set relations back to levels rarely seen since the end of the Cold War, White House spokesman Jay Carney sought to move on from a recent row over the extradition of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Secretary of state John Kerry and defense secretary Chuck Hagel are still expected to meet their Russian counterparts for a series of discussions over other matters at the State Department on Friday.
"We have a number of issues that we are engaging with them on and we continue to discuss these issues going forward," said Carney. "[Snowden] is not the focus, but it is not something that we are dropping in any way."
He also stressed that the dispute over Snowden was only part of the reason for calling off the previously arranged summit in Moscow between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. It had been timed to coincide with Obama's visit to St Petersburg for the G20 conference in September, but Obama will now go to Sweden instead.
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Though stressing that the White House remained angry over Russia's decision to grant Snowden asylum, its comments on Thursday suggest some attempt to contain the fall-out from the row.
Carney distanced the administration, for example, from various calls to block US participation in the forthcoming winter Olympics, due to take place on Sochi next year.
US hawks, such as senator Lindsey Graham, had suggested a boycott in retaliation for allowing Snowden to remain in the country. There are also separate calls for US athletes to stay away in protest against recent Russian legislation discriminating against gay people.
The White House re-iterated that Obama condemned Russia's gay rights record, but poured cold water on any talk of a boycott over either issue.
Asked to comment on parallels with a US-organised boycott of the 1980 Moscow games, Carney responded: "That is a conversation that we are not having. To speak about something like that is not in anyone's interests,"
The Russian embassy in Washington said it had taken the unusual decision of hosting its own press conference following Friday's ministerial talks since the US State Department had chosen not to host any public event event.
A spokesman said he expected the talks to focus on "military and political matters" but declined to elaborate.
"We don't comment ahead of these meetings," he said. "Let's wait and see what happens."
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