An estimated 200,000 people appeared to hear Senator Barack Obama speak in Berlin today.
The speech – “A World That Stands As One” – addressed international concerns that the United States has lost its way. Hoping to quell concerns, Obama promised he would work to unite the world in any way he can, but made sure to say he’s not appearing as a candidate:
“Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world,” Obama said precluding the buzz that his speech today is a campaign rally.
…
“I know my country has not perfected itself,” Obama said. “At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.”
Despite Obama’s claims not to be a candidate, pundits across the board have commented that he appears to be “running for leader of the free world.” And, from the looks of the crowd in Germany, the free world loves him. What was also worth noting, we think, is how many people were waving American flags – not something we see very often these days.
On a somewhat related note, Obama has spent about $5 million on ads to run during the Olympic games, which begin August 8.
We’ve included Obama’s speech on the next page…
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OBAMA SPEECH TRANSCRIPT:
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama (as prepared for delivery)
“A World that Stands as One”
July 24th, 2008
Berlin, Germany
Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.
I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen – a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.
I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father – my grandfather – was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.
At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning – his dream – required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.
That is why I’m here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life.
Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof.
On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade.
This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.
The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.
And that’s when the airlift began – when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city.
The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.
But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city’s mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. “There is only one possibility,” he said. “For us to stand together united until this battle is won…The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world: now do your duty…People of the world, look at Berlin!”
People of the world – look at Berlin!
Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.
Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.
Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.
People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.
Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall – a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope – walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.
The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers – dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.
The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.
As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.
Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.
In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we’re honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.
In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe’s role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth – that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.
Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more – not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.
That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.
The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.
We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid.
So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.
That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations – and all nations – must summon that spirit anew.
This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.
This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.
This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.
This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century – in this city of all cities – we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.
This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.
This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.
This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations – including my own – will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.
And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust – not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.
Now the world will watch and remember what we do here – what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?
Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words “never again” in Darfur?
Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don’t look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?
People of Berlin – people of the world – this is our moment. This is our time.
I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived – at great cost and great sacrifice – to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom – indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us – what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America’s shores – is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.
These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people – everywhere – became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation – our generation – must make our mark on the world.
People of Berlin – and people of the world – the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.
NMV
The Anti-Christ speaks.
jose
i expected something bigger from his speech. it seeme dlike he took a few key lines from previous primary victory speeches and strung them together.
Stenar
PUKE!
Seth
I thought this speech was inspiring. He’s certainly an exceptional orator.
ron
I’ll never understand the appeal of this negro.
morganwalker23
The Obama speech is clearly a turn in American policy toward ineffable fatigue. I find myself wearied at all the coverage that continues to oscillate between fear and hope. Why so serious? Get Your War on! Stop reading the serious news, and lift yourself up with a bit of comedy news at 236.com http://www.236.com/video/2008/get_your_war_on_promo_7897.php
Toutwest
Geez, what ugle people come to this site. I can’t believe the DNC chose this blog to blog at the Demo Convention.
Most of your responder spew nothing but hate… NMV, Stenar, Ron
Gregoire
Racists and spam — ladies and gentlemen, the Queerty comments section
reversion
Let’s give it up for a lack of comment moderation.
WOOOOOOOO
ron
Liberals hate free speech. Just listen to them on here demanding censorship. This is what they want the half-negro, closet-muslim, Obama, to delver.
Tom
I never thought it possible that Obama could win in November. After this speech, I am convinced. He is the right person, with right message, at the right time. There will always be half-wits who do not understand this, but they can be ignored. What matters is that in November, we will say goodbye to the hate and bigotry of the past and hello to the new opportunities for tomorrow.
emb
Some people seem to confuse the concept of “free speech” with the notion that it somehow means that all speech is equally valid and worthy of respect. Supreme Court opinions throughout US history are clear that not all speech is equal, even in a society based on Constitutional freedom. Ignorant racist rants such as appear clustered here along with spammy ads for interracial dating sites masquerading as “comments” have no place in civil discourse. A little moderation might be nice, Q.
Meantime, I thought it was a very good speech, appropriate to its venue and circumstances. Better any ol’ day than john mccain babbling incoherently in the cheese aisle.
CHURCHILL-Y
Yaay! the Messiah complex-full blown, taking shots at the USA while in Germany!
“I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city.”
Yay Messiah play the race card uniter!
“my grandfather – was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.”
Yay messiah, now you can solidify your slave roots not in the US but in Africa!!
Keep on rolling the crowds outside America while bashing us.
I’m sure those people in the Middle east and Germans will come out in rows to vote for you in November.
emb
“I know my country has not perfected itself,†Obama said. “At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.â€
That’s “bashing” America? Apparently some people live in a pure and faultless utopia with a spotless domestic and international history in which we’ve done nothing but spread goodness and light and bask in the warm glow of our own good works.
Sheesh. I gotta quite reading this crap. Bad for the blood pressure. And the soul.
CHURCHILL-Y
No. 10 · RON : No, you’re wrong.
Government censors should get involved and stop it! They should dictate our thoughts/feelings.
No one should even dare to speak or write the truth about the Messiah.
After all didn’t he vote for FISA?
No wonder those commie dictators love him so much.
It’s all good!
Nothing totalitarian there.
Alexa
Dear Queerty, do something about these fucking racist trolls who have invaded your site, before they drive all your regular readers away. I have always loved this site for its mix of humor and politics, but it’s becoming a huge chore to read, and I miss the posters who have already left.
crazylove
Actually- no leave the racist troll comments around. I think gay folks need to understand that other gays can be racists. I also think its of value to see what these people have written and said so no one will engage them in a conversation like they are interested in talking. It’s their right to talk, and it’s our right to ignore them or criticize their stupidity.
Charles
I think a better idea would be to forward these comments to the DNC and hopefully get Queerty’s pass to the convention revoked-there is no point or reason for the DNC to help a site with these kinds of comments and this kind of tone to get any more legitimacy or support.
janstapel
The United States constitution refers to the freedom of speech, it is evident that some ignorant sorts equate this with the freedom of hate. Let’s show the difference, I agree with crazylove do not censor, but perhaps comment or flag for hatefull response.
donsnyc
Free speech unmasks the racists among us. I just found two of them, NVM and Ron.
hells kitchen guy
Oh for heavens sake. You’re all idiots. These people don’t even believe the shit they spew. they’re just children, yelling “Look at me!” And you’re just enabling them by getting upset. Here’s an exercise: Take your eyes. Move away from the hateful comments.
See. It’s easy!
Evah21
If it’s all right, I’d like to return to Senator Obama’s actual speech (which says a lot more about the true meaning of our country than those posting hateful comments to one another on this blog).
I have to say that throughout this presidential campaign, I doubted Senator Obama’s ability to lead the United States. But in reading this speech, I’ve come to realize what an inspirational President he would be. All his remarks, to me, reflect what our country has the potential to be and what we have so fair failed to attain in these recent decades.
Right now, I think America really needs a man like Senator Obama to lead us towards this ideal, to inspire us with words. What good is a President who cannot connect to his people and push them to better themselves? I’m sure most of you agree that President Bush failed in those objectives and we can see the consequences all around us.
Politics is not just a science but also an art not measured by years of experience. Optimism and fresh ideas outside the conventional Washington box will liberate Americans from this seemingly eternal funk we have fallen into. After all, words like Senator Obama’s are the spark that will light the fire under our country’s ass so we take action against everyday injustice around the world.
mark
The unflushed racist turds are overflowing the bowl today. Go make your nooses, fly your LOSER Confederate flag, and crawl back under your respective Red State rocks.
akaison
What’s the pick six tonight Hell’s Kitchen. I mean with your powers of the mind such that you can know what’s in the the minds of others, I am hoping you are also able to pick the lottery numbers for me. Your comment reminds me of this Chinese coworker who came home to find ‘chink’ painted on his door with a burning cross. He also said ‘but they aren’t really racist or believe what they say. I don’t need to get into other people’s heads or to try to not feel emotions just because others are trying to invoke them. I can feel my emotions, decide what I think about what they are saying, and come to judgment about it. Nothing is stupid about that process. It’s healthy.
bobito
It’s a pretty good speech. If people here have problems with the content, it seems strange to me. The aspirations to which he refers would be very worthwhile in affecting some of the change we keep hearing about. And he’s not making some unfulfillable promises about how it’s all gonna be a cakewalk. He’s doing a great thing for America by just being there and saying what he says, after the past 7 years of our representatives coming to Europe to throw their weight around and flaunt their ignorance and arrogance.
It seems to me that the people who object to what Obama is doing or saying here simply object to Obama’s existence. But interpret it as they want to (since they do anyway), they cannot convince anyone who pays attention to the actual words that the man is ignorant or arrogant. It would be a big change, and for the citizens of the world, a refreshing one.
michael
You guys, don’t get so upset at the racist pigs that come on here and spew. I don’t even think of them as gay. Remember the film the” Shawshank Redemption”? There was a scene where Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins characters were discussing the guys who raped new and weak inmates at the prison they were in. Tim Robbins character referred to them as “homosexuals” (movie was set in the 30’s so there was no other polite term) Morgan Freeman’s character then replied “their not homosexuals, homosexuals have a heart”. This is what I think of when I read the crap they put out. They just need to hate, they just need something to look down upon cause otherwise they would have to look at themselves. It is solidly obvious that what they say is mostly shit so just let them talk to each other. Don’t respond because by doing so you are entering the very loop they are inviting you to join into. Don’t jump rope with these creatures!
Charles
I would love to think that not responding would be effective, but IMHO not responding and just letting them spew on here consistently is tacitly condoning their behavior and what they have to say as if it’s equal to and just as valid as anything else said on here. And it’s bringing down the tone of the entire site.
“You guys, don’t get so upset at the racist pigs that come on here and spew. I don’t even think of them as gay.”
That’s wishful thinking and doesn’t change a thing. I know that gay guys like this exist, I don’t need or want to hear from them. I don’t understand why this site can’t implement a required registration for comments and do a three strikes warning, then banning system. Other sites do it.
michael
Charles, thats why you have to ignore them cause obviously Queerty is not going to do it and I don’t believe that it is necessary to banter with them, I think it just feeds them and validates their
existence. There is a saying “What you focus on expands” and thats what I think happens with these guys, we focus on them and they just expand. It just reminds us all that no matter what ethnic, racial, social, sexual, etc. group we may belong to that there are always going to some that are just fucked up. I just use it to do my own inventory and keep a check on my own self.
AJ
I was at this speech yesterday at the Siegesäule, and there was NO America-bashing, like some have tried to indicate and I was astonished to learn that so many people were supportive of America even at this time when so much has gone wrong. And if there was 200,000 (I thought there was actually more), It seemed to me that atleast half were from the LGBT community. It was like one big gay club with a political agenda during the 4th of July. Gays were walking hand-n-hand, dancing, and getting drunk through the entire fest and Tiergarten Park.
As for Churchill-y, to say sarcastically, “I’m sure those people in the Middle East and Germans will come out in rows to vote for you in November”. I hope you do know that Germany has more American troops and civilians stationed here than any other country in the world, including Iraq. It is one of the largest, if not the largest, American communities outside of North America, and yes we can still vote from here. I’m not a HUGE Obama fan but I still wouldn’t underestimate his effective campaigning skills.
Mr C
AJ,
When you haven’t been anywhere. You don’t know much……
That’s why the unauthenticated venom from C________-Y is of the ignore zone.
So it’s to pay it no mind. How are you anyway?
Endymnion
There are always a lot of dumb people in Berlin, ready to applaud anyone and anything. It has nothing to do with how the Germans think.
This guy OB still does not know that 9/11 was committed by Bush and gang (via CIA and Israel’s MOSSAD) and that global warming is a hoax. Or, on second thoughts maybe he knows just too well.
I don’t like him because his Zionist handler, Brzezinski (a war criminal in the Kissinger, Bush league), has a lot of dirt on him re the gay killings in Obama’s church, his drug abuse and God knows what else! Obama already proclaimed his undying love for Israel????!!!! and will do anything to keep those biggots ‘safe’ (from themselves I presume).
Obama is putty in the hands of this guy Brzezinski! I hate him and Obama!
The US is in for a LOT of heartache because it’s citizen have been dumbed down so much that they squabble over minor thing and miss the big picture!
Enjoy your weekend. xx
AJ
Hey Mr C,
Isn’t that the truth! He needs desperately to get an education and get the hell out of there.
I’m doing good, just recovering from last night’s Obama-party or what the Germans called it, “Obamafest”, in Tiergarten. It was amazing to see so many American and Germans, Hillary and Obama supporters, all races, and all nationalities come together for that event. Everyone respected everybody’s opinion and the best part, NO RACISM and NO HOMOPHOBIA! If you ever get a chance to come to Berlin, you would be crazy to pass up such an opportunity. Hope you’re having a good Friday!
AJ
Endymnion,
What the fuck is this statement, “There are always a lot of dumb people in Berlin, ready to applaud anyone and anything. It has nothing to do with how the Germans think.”
Say what you want about Obama but atleast the Germans are smart and tolorant enough to have equal rights for everyone. And if you were there you would have known that they were not very happy about what Obama had said about the Russians. Du bist ein blöd, sheiß-behindert Arschloch!
Endymnion
@ AJ 34 – Firstly, please try and do without the profanities! They give you away as belonging to a certain interest group and speak volumes about your upbringing!
Secondly, I’m talking about Berlin and not the German people! Berlin is full of tourists, and students from everywhere, (including Germany of course), who’ll often go to any event just to ‘have been there’. Same with this Obama event.
Thirdly, I wouldn’t be seen dead, as a German, at this farce because no banners were allowed! What does that say about the intelligence of the people who attended that circus and equal rights for everyone?
Fourthly, Our parliament is in Berlin and they, unfortunately, often invite, applaud anyone and anything! Especially when they don’t understand it!
Fifthly, I think it’s very rude to use a foreign language on this forum to disguise your insult!
Fragen Sie ihre Frau Mutter (wenn Sie wissen wer und wo Sie ist) ihnen den Mund mit Seife auszuwaschen!
Translation of the above paragraph: Ask your mother (if you know who and where she is) to was out your mouth with soap!
END OF DISCUSSION ON THIS SUBJECT WITH YOU!
CitizenGeek
I watched the speech on CNN yesterday and – as a European myself – I was absolutely amazed. Obama is utterly fantastic and even my 15-year-old sister (who is … not very politically aware, to say the least) was impressed and watched the whole thing.
Gregoire
Why are there so many nutjobs that post here? Queerty, you’re about to lose me. I can’t keep swimming through all these paranoids and racists.
Endymnion
36 · CitizenGeek said ‘Obama is utterly fantastic and even my 15-year-old sister (who is … not very politically aware, to say the least) was impressed and watched the whole thing.’
By what standards and with what yardstick did your 15 year alod sister judge Obama’s speech if she is not politically aware? Maybe she watched the ‘whole thing’ because many people just watch ‘whole things’ without thinking about the things they are watching, going to watch or have watched and what they might do to them? Maybe?!
I rest my case! 🙂
Gregoire
You’re right, maybe his 15 year old sister should have talked to you first so you could explain it to her, since obviously she’s just a sheep. *eyerolls*
Endymnion
@ Gregoire – CitizenGeek did say about his sister ‘who is … not very politically aware, to say the least)’. Sounds like a sheeple to me. But she is only 15 (like you?).
Maybe Qweerty needs to change so as to not lose you, lol! Would be too terrible if we never heard from you again!
Maybe she and you will enjoy this:
http://youtube.com/user/tokiohotelchannel?ob=4
Bye!
AJ
@ENDYMNION:
Firstly: Didn’t anyone tell you that the online translators are not translating correctly? Your German sentence does not make any sense… Just like the rest, which you wrote in English.
Secondly: Did anyone ever tell you, that it is not very smart to make generalized statements about certain races, people living in a certain country or in this case in a certain city? How in the world can someone think, that he has the ability or the right to judge millions of people and put them into a certain category? Berlin has over 4 million people (without tourists).
Thirdly: “…Our parliament is in Berlin…” I don’t think it is. Unless you are German, of course. By going on your German, I don’t think you are. Unless you are illiterate.
M Shane
The very fact that Barak was farsighted and wise enough to realize that the current state of our existence is irrevocably tied to it’s corrupted relation to the rest of the world in the way that it never has been is profound.
With regards to Europe especially the U.S. has seemlessly resumed the colonization of the Third World, something which European countries abandoned after WW2 in that it looked like Hitler’s ambition.
We neglected to notice that a million people Demonstrated in Europe at the start of the Iraq war, because the real purpose was clear to any one who wasn’t bombarded by the Amerian propaganda machine.
Bush had to invent this so called “alliance of the retarded” which gave the impresion that anyone in the world really supported his war thus misrepresenting our arrogance and mercinary greed.
To top that off: and this the World will never forget (NYT) our blatant disregard of the Geneva convention regarding torture, ands our longstanding policy of preemptive aggression.
To the civilized World we look like aggressive dangerous and greedy torturers. Don’t forget that while our News is completely censured from reporting or picturing the horrors which U.S troops both regular and from our Mercinary army , Blackwater perpetrate.
They pubish the real news.
People who are here from the third world know that out “democratization” is always a pretense to justify imperial aggression. Talk to anyone who trusts you. America is an ugly joke.
Obama is a voice of hope in a world which sees us as ignorant, corrupt and destructive monsters.
The very fact that he came with reassurances
of our humanity is courageous and a sign that he knows that the world depends at least on our decency. Remember when Bush comes he gets cabages and tomatoes; it would be too damned embarassing for Mr. Mcgoo to come dodering in rambling Bushims. (dum-de dum)
Little one
@ M Shane 42 –
Obama is not his own man! Neither is McCain!
Obama is handled by Brzezinski, and McCain is handled by Lieberman!
Who handles Brzezinski and Lieberman is no secret to the informed, namely the same people who handle the US for their own benefit! The US has become a colony!
M Shane
Not sure what you are talking about, Little one.
CHURCHILL-Y
“Obama on gay rights: Just what HAS he done?â€
“Now let’s look at Obama’s record in the Illinois legislature. Obama was elected in 1996 and took office in 1997 as a member of the 90th General Assembly. Insofar as I can tell from the archaic printouts available at the General Assembly’s archival section, Obama neither introduced nor co-sponsored any legislation pertinent to gay rights during either of his first two terms in office (1997-2000, 90th and 91st General Assemblies). In the 92nd General Assembly (2001-2002), he signed on to a House bill (HB101) in April 2001. That bill died in committee and expired when the legislature adjourned sine die on January 7, 2003.
On January 21, 2005, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed into law Senate Bill 3186 which, according to the bill’s synopsis on the General Assembly’s page:
Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed as requiring any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to give preferential treatment or special rights or implement affirmative action policies or programs based on sexual orientation. Provides that discrimination against a person because of his or her sexual orientation constitutes unlawful discrimination under the Act.
Also according to the General Assembly’s bill summary page for SB3186, Barack Obama did not introduce, sponsor, or co-sponsor this bill, despite having been a co-sponsor on two previous draft bills (SB101 and SB2597) in the very same session of the GA that appear to be virtually identical to the one that actually passed. SB101 was introduced by State Sen. Carol Ronen on January 29, 2003 and died in the Rules Committee that summer. The bill expired when the Senate adjourned at the end of the session on January 11, 2005. SB2597 was introduced, also by Sen. Ronen, on February 4, 2004, and referred that same day to the Rules Committee, where it likewise died. That bill also expired on January 11, 2005. SB3186 was introduced in the Senate on February 6, 2004, two days after the bill that Obama eventually signed onto as a co-sponsor. Obama did not resign from the General Assembly until November 2004 when he won election to the U.S. Senate. For the whole of his final term in the General Assembly, the Democrats were in control of both houses of the legislature, after trouncing the Republicans in the 2002 elections (largely due to the disgrace of indicted and now convicted former Republican Governor George Ryan on influence peddling and campaign finance charges).
In other words, in four terms in the Illinois Senate, Obama co-sponsored (but did not introduce) three bills that would have added sexual orientation as a protected category under the Illinois Human Rights Act. None of those bills passed, all of them dying in committee and then expiring when the session adjourned. From what I can tell online, Obama’s involvement with the bills seems to have been minimal. He does not appear to have argued for their passage, urged their consideration, or done anything other than to put his name onto someone else’s bill. Moreover, the language of the bill he supported, like the one that eventually passed without his involvement or support, while it did extend protection on the grounds of sexual orientation, also made it quite clear that there was to be no “preferential treatment†or “special rights†for homosexuals under the bill. That’s what I’d call a left-handed compliment–or a backhand to the chops. What the bill gave with one hand, it took away with the other–and appealed to decidedly right-wing framing and language to do it. If I were Senator Obama, I don’t think I’d be holding up this bill as anything to be particularly proud of. I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to list it among my accomplishments.â€
http://musing85.typepad.com/blog/2008/01/obama-on-gay-ri.html
Add to this these fine points:
CHANGE #1: Barack Obama says he’s against The California Ballot Measure Banning Gay Marriage Despite His repeated Assertion That Marriage Is Between A Man And A Woman.
“I still think that these are decisions that need to be made at a state and local level. I’m a strong supporter of civil unions. And I think that, you know, we’re involved in a national conversation about this issue. You know, I believe that marriage is between a man and a womanâ€
Despite his so called ’support’ for GLBT rights he’s on record for also saying that a second class citizen status such as a civil partnership a la Vermont is his preferred resolution for the issue and goes beyond and says that the issue should be left up to individual States to decide upon. We shouldn’t be entitled to the same rights and protections his family has but he’s Okay with the California Supreme Court decision. Until it gets voted down in November by the public then another flip-flop on the making.
CHANGE #2: While Obama says he will support a repeal of DADT once he’s president as a senator he hasn’t co-sponsored MREA ( The Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.â€) in both the 109th and 110th congress.
CHANGE #3: Barack Obama has come out in full support and expressed his desire to expand on Bush’s faith based initiative programs although he has said previously that he values this Nations principle of the separation of church and state.
Take notice I’m leaving out his McClurkin an James Meeks episodes.
Dilroy
Anyone who doesn’t fall in line behind Obama is a racist.
Sheebo
46 · Dilroy said ‘Anyone who doesn’t fall in line behind Obama is a racist.’
So true! Anyone who criticizes Zionists or Israel is anti Semitic! What a laugh!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lSp-oIOhq00
I am a white guy and have lived decades in South Africa. A person of mixed race there and in the whole of southern Africa, coming to think of it, is referred to as a coloured. He is absolutely not accepted by blacks as black, nor by the whites as being white! Even today!
What puzzles me with Obama is why he sees himself as black when he is actually also 50% white? He was raised by his white grandparents etc. One would think his identity would lean towards the white side! I find that kind of STRANGE!
Even stranger is the fact, to me, that American whites automatically ‘classify’ Obama as black and forget about the fact that he is also half white! But that’s maybe ’cause he never talks about his ‘white’ side? Why not? Puzzling!
It’s also strange to me that gay guys on this forum don’t seem to know about the two gay guys (of his church), who had ‘relations’ with Obama and have been murdered recently, or about Larry Sinclair (youtube), who claims he gave Obama a BJ and snorted some coke with him.
I also find Obama’s declaration of undying love for Israel (which will make Americans rue the day they voted for Obama, mark my words) and him interfering with the SOVEREIGN state of Iran, WEIRD. No mention is made by Obama of the fact that Israel has one of the worst human rights records in the world and is in violation of many treaties by owning at least 150 nuclear weapons! Yet if Iran wants to make nuclear fuel it must ask masters Israel and US? Up theirs I say!
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/
Don’t expect a balance foreign or internal policy from this unbalanced Obama, that’s my feeling!
I think this guy is a dangerous puppet, controlled by the puppeteer and even more dangerous Zionist Brzezinski.
Unfortunately the US, once again, is between a rock and a hard place with choosing it’s president. McCain (handled by Zionist Lieberman) is as rotten, spineless and clueless as Obama.
The people of the US missed the chance to vote for Ron Paul. A person loved the world over.
JUST IN: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/383.html
BTW. I love Southern African coloured guys and think they are the most gorgeous looking and fun loving people on this planet!
Mr C
Sheebo,
If they don’t want to support Obama they don’t have to. And they’re not racist, well some are. And alot are just mad that Hillary lost. OH WELL.
But very strange for some White guy from South Africa spewing bullshit here.
you said: BTW. I love Southern African coloured guys and think they are the most gorgeous looking and fun loving people on this planet!
OMG….Really queen so you lived there for years while APARTHIED was the law so then you looked down on them and now you think they’re GORGEOUS…
so what you were sleeping with behind closed doors and cursing at them in public? You know after 12AM and before 6AM……
What changed your feelings the fact that Aparthied was struck down, Or do you live far away from your family so they won’t know and dis-own you?
Of all places…..Where the whites was Afrikkaners and the Blacks was….well you know the story.
Maybe you need to worry about your own fucking surroundings and leave ours alone.
By the way please get new links to all that BULLSHIT your American cousin Churchshit-Y has given you they’re OLD and TIRED and a BUNCH of lies.
Little one
@ Mr C – 48 –
I see I hit a few nerves! Good!
Being white did not automatically equal being anti-black during APARTHEID! Helen Suzman, Piet Oppenheimer, Albie Sachs where (are) white and supported the black course.
I emigrated from Europe to South Africa when my father was posted to South Africa as ambassador.
Apartheid was never condoned by myself. I mixed with anyone I chose to while I lived there, all the time, without being harassed by anyone! Yes, even during the APARTHEID years! It wasn’t as if you could not sleep with a coloured person if you wanted to (and he want to too of course), but people did look down on you and call you a ‘Kaffir boetjie’ (‘N’ brother). But as a foreigner, especially a young, good-looking (blush) and well connected one, one had certain liberties. I slept in Soweto (black) or Newclare (coloured) or in Houghton (white), whenever I wanted to. No sweat!
I worked with coloured people and loved them from the first time I met them. Such sense of humor under trying circumstances. We had many a good time.
I consider planet earth MY SURROUNDINGS as you put it! Unlike some people I do not believe that MIGHT MAKES RIGHT and allows one to invade SOVEREIGN countries ‘at will’ and do all in my power to ensure that perpetrators, especially those who shun the light, will be brought to book and will be punished! I think we both know who they are! We live in a world full of lies, created and maintained by a clan who think this planet belongs to them. This ain’t the case, as they are busy finding out!
A suggestion, if you don’t have a good counter argument or you are upset that someone put the spotlight on your tribe, try not to resort to profanities. It immediately identifies you as one of the blue-white debunker brigade!
Try and take the hate out of your heart (if you have one) and check this out:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/
Under Obama or McCain the US government will look much like it did under Clinton’s:
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/clilist.htm
Bye from Queen (as you called me).
BTW. I don’t think you are gay!
Sheebo
@ Mr C – 48 –
I see I hit a few nerves! Good!
Being white did not automatically equal being anti-black during APARTHEID! Helen Suzman, Piet Oppenheimer, Albie Sachs where (are) white and supported the black course.
I emigrated from Europe to South Africa when my father was posted to South Africa as ambassador.
Apartheid was never condoned by myself. I mixed with anyone I chose to while I lived there, all the time, without being harassed by anyone! Yes, even during the APARTHEID years! It wasn’t as if you could not sleep with a coloured person if you wanted to (and he want to too of course), but people did look down on you and call you a ‘Kaffir boetjie’ (’N’ brother). But as a foreigner, especially a young, good-looking (blush) and well connected one, one had certain liberties. I slept in Soweto (black) or Newclare (coloured) or in Houghton (white), whenever I wanted to. No sweat!
I worked with coloured people and loved them from the first time I met them. Such sense of humor under trying circumstances. We had many a good time.
I consider planet earth MY SURROUNDINGS as you put it! Unlike some people I do not believe that MIGHT MAKES RIGHT and allows one to invade SOVEREIGN countries ‘at will’ and do all in my power to ensure that perpetrators, especially those who shun the light, will be brought to book and will be punished! I think we both know who they are! We live in a world full of lies, created and maintained by a clan who think this planet belongs to them. This ain’t the case, as they are busy finding out!
A suggestion, if you don’t have a good counter argument or you are upset that someone put the spotlight on your tribe, try not to resort to profanities. It immediately identifies you as one of the blue-white debunker brigade!
Try and take the hate out of your heart (if you have one) and check this out:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/
Under Obama or McCain the US government will look much like it did under Clinton’s:
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/clilist.htm
Bye from Queen (as you called me).
BTW. I don’t think you are gay!
Sheebo
@ 43 · Little one who said ‘ @ M Shane 42 –
Obama is not his own man! Neither is McCain!
Obama is handled by Brzezinski, and McCain is handled by Lieberman!
Who handles Brzezinski and Lieberman is no secret to the informed, namely the same people who handle the US for their own benefit! The US has become a colony!’ ——–
I agree with you one hundred percent!
Sorry Little One, I commented under your name by mistake when commenting on Mr C – 48 diatribe! (Cut and paste problem).
Mr C
I am Gay in every aspect of it and PROUD!
you didn’t hit any nerves at all.
Unfortunately, I decided to respond to RABIDNESS!
By the way LADY
I’m not from a Tribe, That’s in Africa! I’m from America
I have no hate. I just responded to some idiotic BULLSHIT.