Obama's Berlin Speech At Brandenberg Gate Draws 4,500, Down From 200K in 2008 (Photos)

Side-by-side photos
2008 vs. 2013

195K stayed home this time.


newsmax

President Barack Obama returned to Berlin on Wednesday — but he found a very different reception than when he visited the German capital five years ago.

Then, candidate Obama greeted an estimated 200,000 people in July 2008 who turned out to hear him speak in front of Berlin's Tiergarten, one of the nation's most notable landmarks, The Atlantic reports

 German officials attacked Obama for initially wanting to stage his speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate — while Republicans in the United States winced at the thought of a presidential hopeful being adored on the international stage.

But on Wednesday, only 5,000 to 6,000 people turned out to hear Obama speak — and all of them were invited guests, the Atlantic reports.

It’s probably because — the Atlantic opines — Obama’s reputation has been "tarnished" by the surveillance scandals, his extensions of the war on terror, and results of him not being able to make good on his promises.

"He's 'demystified' and 'no longer a superstar' in German eyes," the Atlantic reports. "Now he's just another world leader on a state visit, and whatever problems people have with U.S. policy are on his shoulders."  h/t floppingaces

Here's a fun flashback from 2008
Obama's crowd for his 2008 Berlin speech was so massive that John McCain jabbed O as nothing more than a celebrity who may not be ready to lead. He used footage of the speech in Germany with the crowd chanting 'Obama' and then compared O to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. A great ad. Watch 'Celeb'


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Caught on Surveillance Video: Burglar Uses Bible to Set Car On Fire

Horrible.


(CBS4)

Surveillance cameras captured a burglar using a bible to set a car on fire in West Kendall. "I have nightmares about all this and thinking that it could have been worse," said the owner of the car Maria Rodriguez.  

The incident happened in the Encore neighborhood near Southwest 147th avenue and 88th Street at 2:30 am June 13, 2013. The surveillance video shows a man casing the area, checking car doors until he finds one that is unlocked.  

The burglar gets into an Acura SUV and uses a lighter to search for valuables. After a few minutes the man takes a bible from inside the car and sets it on fire.

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Celeb Chef Paula Deen Admits to Using the N-Word But Says She Doesn't Condone Racism

"It's been a very long time"

people
Celebrity cook Paula Deen said while being questioned in a discrimination lawsuit that she has used racial slurs in the past but insisted she and her family do not tolerate prejudice.

The 66-year-old Food Network star and Savannah restaurant owner was peppered with questions about her racial attitudes in a May 17 deposition by a lawyer for Lisa Jackson, a former manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House. 

Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, own the restaurant. Jackson sued them last year, saying she was sexually harassed and worked in a hostile environment rife with innuendo and racial slurs.

According to a transcript of the deposition, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, an attorney for Jackson asked Deen if she has ever used the N-word.
"Yes, of course," Deen replied, though she added: "It's been a very long time."

Asked to give an example

 Deen recalled the time she worked as a bank teller in southwest Georgia in the 1980s and was held at gunpoint by a robber. The gunman was a black man, Deen told the attorney, and she thought she used the slur when talking about him after the holdup. "Probably in telling my husband," she said.  

William Franklin, Deen's attorney, said the celebrity was looking forward to her day in court.

"Contrary to media reports, Ms. Deen does not condone or find the use of racial epithets acceptable," he said in a statement.

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Michelle Malkin Rips Bloomberg Anti-Gun Group For Adding Boston Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev To Victims List At Rally

'How 'bout a background check against this kind of stupidity'

From Fox News Hannity
Sean asks Michelle Malkin about an anti-gun rally in which Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev's name was read as a victim of gun violence.

The rally was held by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun group, which later apologized


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Americans Confidence in Television News at 23%, Among Conservatives 15%

People don't trust the lib media.

Horrible numbers in a new gallup survey

gallup
The percentage of Americans saying they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers has been generally trending downward since 1979, when it reached a high of 51%.
Newspapers rank near the bottom on a list of 16 societal institutions Gallup measured in a June 1-4 survey. Television news is tied with newspapers on the list, with 23% of Americans also expressing confidence in it. That is up slightly from the all-time low of 21% found last year.

. Moderates' confidence has been trending downward for the past two years, and is now at 25%. Liberals remain the most confident in newspapers -- although not by much -- with 31% putting a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in them this year.

Confidence in television news

By ideology
Libs 31%, conservatives 15%




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O’Reilly: 'Obama Could Very Well Be Impeached' If Evidence Shows Intel Agency Read Emails Without Warrant

BILL: Obama is now on the record, and if, if evidence is produced that any U.S. intelligence agency is reading emails without a specific warrant, Mr. Obama could very well be impeached. That's how important his statement to Mr. Rose really is. There’s no going back now. President Obama said flat out no one is listening to phone calls or reading emails without a specific warrant to do so.


newsbusters

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Video: Obama Calls For a Reduction in Nuclear Weapons By One Third

Obama is calls for a one-third reduction of the world's nuclear stockpiles. Speaking at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, he says he intends to seek negotiated cuts with Russia to move beyond a Cold War nuclear posture.

It's the Obama world of fairy tales. See, if we reduce nuclear arsenals by one-third. Russia will only have 6,000 warheads and the U.S. will have 3,500. Then the world can only destroyed 50X over. Russia currently has 8,500 warheads, the US 5,100, down from 31,000 in the late 60s

Instead of worrying about Russia, maybe we should worry about Iran, who has promised to destroy Israel with 'one storm' if they get nuclear weapons

Here's Obama at the Brandenburg Gate


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Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski Comes out in Support of Gay Marriage, Joins Rob Portman, Mark Kirk

3 Republican senators now support gay marriage


(CNN) – Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced her support Wednesday for same-sex marriage, becoming the third sitting GOP senator to back the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry.

She made her endorsement during an interview with a local television station in Alaska and in an opinion piece on her website, just days before the Supreme Court is expected to rule on two high-profile cases involving same-sex marriage.

"I support the right of all Americans to marry the person they love and choose because I believe doing so promotes both values: it keeps politicians out of the most private and personal aspects of peoples’ lives – while also encouraging more families to form and more adults to make a lifetime commitment to one another," she wrote.

"Senator Murkowski's courageous and principled announcement today sends a clear message that marriage equality must come to all 50 states in this country," Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement. "We hope other fair-minded conservatives like Senator Murkowski stand up and join her. Alaska may be nicknamed 'the Last Frontier,' but we've got to make sure that LGBT Alaskans don't have to wait to find justice."

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