Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Greater acceptance of same-sex marriage (May 23rd 2012)

F. Christopher Arterton the American Professor of Political Management and active in Democratic party politics has been interviewed by Sophie Sportiche in regard to President Obama’s shift on same-sex marriage. During the course of the interview Arterton states “I think having the president of the United States come out for that among a limited group of people may in fact cause them to pause and rethink this issue. …I would say that it’s important to bear in mind that over time, the drift has essentially been toward a greater acceptance of same-sex marriage. …There is a group in the middle that really wants a kind of civil discourse and wants US politicians to not be at each other’s throat. …I think that for the middle segment, which is where the battleground is going to be, they prefer that kind of statement rather than a virulent okay, it’s now time to go for same-sex marriage vehemently, to propose a constitutional amendment or to introduce legislation to totally gut the Defence of Marriage Act. And so to really make a fight out of this on either side, I think, is not in the interests of the group that they’re fighting over.”

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/aYbs1 image source Politico ow.ly/aYbo0

Accepted practice of the president assassinating people (October 15th)

Ronald Ernest “Ron” Paul the 76 year old US politician and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination has criticized President Obama for “assassinating” Anwar al-Awlaki the US born Muslim cleric and al Qaeda leader, claiming he should have been captured and brought before trial in a US court. US government authorities have previously stated that al-Awlaki would be targeted if he were ever located for preaching terror in the Arabian Peninsula as the public face of al Qaeda. Paul stated, “If the American people accept this blindly and casually, that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys, I think it’s sad… Al-Awlaki was born here, he’s an American citizen, he was never tried or charged for any crimes… To start assassinating American citizens without charges – we should think very seriously about this.”

Inspired by Eric Kleefeld http://ow.ly/6KN7o image source http://ow.ly/6KN5Q

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known by her stage name Lady Gaga, the 25 year old US pop singer songwriter diva has become the first person with more than 10 million Twitter followers on the micro blogging service. Lady Gaga’s response on Twitter to her followers was “10 Million Monsters! I’m speechless, we did it! It’s an illness how I love you”. The monster being a reference to her enormously successful world tour named “The Monster Ball tour”. Justin Bieber another pop singer closely follows Gaga with nearly 9.7mil followers on Twitter, and President Obama third with 8mil. Britney Spears another pop singer follows next with 7.8mil and US television personality Kim Kardashian close fifth with 7.5mil. Gaga has the number one spot on the Forbes annual list of most powerful celebrities.

Inspired by Edwin Kee http://ow.ly/51wPI image source http://ow.ly/51xjk

Marcian Edward “Ted” Hoff the 73 year old US engineer has been profiled by Iain Mackenzie in honor of his contribution as co-inventor of the microprocessor that revolutionized the computing industry. Hoff joined Intel in 1967 as their 12^th employee and has been credited with the idea for the universal processor leading to his naming as the first Intel Fellow, being the company’s highest technical position. Hoff also received an induction into the Inventors Hall of Fame, and received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama, other recipients include Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Ray Dolby and his former Intel employer Robert Noyce. Noyce known as the Mayor of Silicon Valley, personally head hunted Hoff into Intel, providing the opportunity to work in a team developing integrated circuits.

Inspired by Iain Mackenzie http://ow.ly/4Vmdm image source ComputerHistory http://ow.ly/4Vmsw

Donald John Trump the 64 year old US real estate developer, television personality and potential GOP candidate for the US 2012 presidential race, has come under intense scrutiny over his stance on many issues conflicting with his historical record, along with his apparent support for issues and individuals from both conservative and progressive sides of the US politics. Despite his popularity having grown within the more extreme elements of the GOP with his vocal ‘Birther’ calls on President Obama, Trump has been ridiculed for this stance, and also been accused of draft dodging during the Vietnam war years, relying on educational and medical excuses to avoid subscription. Counter calls are now being made for Trump to release his tax and financial returns as he had earlier promised.

Inspired by Alex Alvarez ow.ly/4KAl2 image source Gage Skidmore ow.ly/4KAkK

Angela Dorothea Merkel the 56 year old first female Chancellor of Germany and former head of the European Council, announced via Steffen Seibert her press secretary’s twitter account, a planned trip to the USA. The method of announcement via twitter has created great angst among the German press corps demanding to know if future announcements from the Chancellor’s office will similarly be made public via twitter. Apparently many of the press corps do not have twitter accounts and still rely on dinosaur technology such as facsimile machines to receive their press release information. Merkel had agreed to the use of twitter technology given the lead taken by other progressive governments around the world, to announce this official visit to the USA to meet with President Obama.

Inspired by Sam Stein ow.ly/4ym2l image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4ymeY

Warren Minor Christopher the former Secretary of State during the Clinton first presidential term has died at the age of 85 from complications of kidney and bladder cancer. Described as a diplomat’s diplomat for his talent and dedication, President Obama referred to him as a “resolute pursuer of peace” for his work in the Middle East and the Balkans.  He is renowned for negotiating a settlement in 1980 to the Iran hostage crisis on the eve of Reagan’s presidential win, and as the force behind the US eventual confrontation to the ethnic violence in the Balkans and Rwanda. Christopher shunned publicity and avoided the spotlight even while being in high profile positions throughout his career, allowing his underlings to take the limelight in his place.

Inspired by Jamie Klatell ow.ly/4kwgh image source Wikipedia http://ow.ly/4kwfB

Jon Meade Huntsman the 50 year old former GOP Governor of Utah and current United States Ambassador to China might be considering a presidential run in 2012 after his name appeared on lists of potential Republican nominees. When questioned President Obama responded “I couldn’t be happier with the ambassador’s service, and I’m sure he will be very successful in whatever endeavors he chooses in the future. I’m sure that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in any Republican primary.” Huntsman declined to comment when asked by Newsweek whether he was prepared to rule out a 2012 presidential election bid, the no comment response described by Newsweek as “as close to a hat-in-ring announcement as you’ll get from a sitting member of the incumbent’s administration”.

Inspired by Elaine Chow ow.ly/3IWIH image source Wikipedia ow.ly/3IWL5