On air: Has President Obama done the right thing with healthcare?

When I tweeted this morning asking what people would like to talk about Megha in India immediately tweeted back “the health bill definitely is THE news”.

And, she is right the blogosphere is alive with debate other whether the landmark healthcare reform bill is a good or a bad thing for the US.

Is Israel’s lobby in the US too powerful?

Eyeball to eyeball?

Hi, Dan Damon here. I present World Update.

The longstanding friendship between Israel and the United States is under strain.  Last week, Israel’s ambassador to the US said relations were at a 35 year low.

Who’s afraid of the Dalai Lama?

Meeting with the Dalai Lama has been hanging over  Obama since he took office. And much to China’s annoyance Obama has now met with him.

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize he has a reputation for promoting peace. 

But Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party Secretary in Tibet has said ‘The Dalai Lama is a wolf wrapped in a habit, a monster with human face and animal’s heart’.

On air: Your first year report for Pres Obama

I doubt there are many champagne corks popping in the White House to mark the President’s first year in power. If he didn’t have his work out before, this result in Massachusetts makes things a whole lot harder.

If you’d like to send us a video (of 60 seconds or under) with your first year report for the President, please email it to this address. We’ll do our best to use any many as we can. Here’s the BBC’s assessment of the President’s first year..

On Air: Who’s more intelligent, the intelligence services or the terrorists?

In yesterday’s programme many listeners commented that profiling at airports would not work because the people who resort to terror would simply change their profile and stay one step ahead.

The calls for these extra security measures at airports came after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate a bomb on a plane bound for the US.  The American intelligence and the British intelligence services are blaming each other for the blunder.

Is Obama closing or just moving Guantanamo?

 

On Tuesday, President Obama outlined his future plans for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It includes acquiring the Thomson Correctional Center  in Carroll County, Illinois and transferring less than 100 (of the 210) detainees from Cuba to the U.S. facility.

Obama’s plan was a move to make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo detention camp but the plan wasn’t met with enthusiasm by everyone.

On air: Has President Obama got it right on Afghanistan?

US President Barack Obama has issued new orders for the US military in Afghanistan, he is set to formally announce that a further 30,000 troops are to be sent to Afghanistan in a televised address on Tuesday.

Should Barack Obama have allowed himself to be censored?

If by speaking to China’s youth, President Obama was attempting to smuggle in a bit of democracy into China, then he’s failed according to this blogger. Here’s why:

‘Chinese authorities declined the White House’s request to have the town hall broadcast nationally. Each of the 400-plus students had to attend a pre-talk “lecture and meeting” to learn their talking points. Chinese news sites that originally reported Obama’s remarks about an open Internet and universal rights were quickly censored.’

Hypocrite  or wise move? Is  allowing himself to be censored the sacrifice  President Obama has to make to have China on side?

On air: Is President Karzai the biggest barrier to peace in Afghanistan?

The US Ambassador to Kabul is advising President Barack Obama not to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan, until President Karzai’s government proves it will tackle corruption.

The right thing to do?

This story got a huge reaction from listeners to the BBC’s Newshour. President Obama flew to Delaware to pay his respects to 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan. This month has been the dealiest in Afghanistan since US forces began operations in 2001. It’s the first time he’s done this, and President Bush visited the families of dead troops but never received the bodies at the base. Was he right to do this? Or does he risk being accused of making political gain, and of undermining national support for the operation?