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THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Today, the United States -- together with our close allies and partners -- took an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program.

Secretary of State John Kerry marked “Transgender Day of Remembrance” Wednesday, noting that these individuals are “harassed, arrested or even killed simply because of who they are and who they love.” The U.S. was joining the international event by “honoring the memory of lives lost to violence provoked by fear and hatred of transgender and gender non-conforming people,” he said. Kerry said despite “tremendous progress in advancing the rights of LGBT people” these individuals still face violence, including in the United States. …

"Secretary of State John Kerry announced Monday the provision of $10 million in funding for a new U.S. initiative, Safe from the Start, to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies worldwide. Secretary Kerry emphasized that in the face of conflict and disaster, we should strive to protect women and girls from sexual assault and other violence," reads the State Department press release.

(CNSNews.com) - While President Barack Obama is now asking Congress to authorize him to use military force against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad because that regime used chemical weapons on its own people, the State Department is maintaining a travel warning advising Americans not to travel to Syria because the al-Nusrah Front, the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria--which is particiapting in the rebellion seeking to overthrow Assad--has carried out about 600 attacks in the country since November 2011. These al Qaeda terrorist attacks, according to the State Department, have killed many Syrian civilians. "There is also a threat from...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Americans are training Syrian anti-government fighters in Jordan, the German weekly Der Spiegel said on Sunday, quoting what it said were participants and organizers. Spiegel said it was not clear whether the Americans worked for private firms or were from the army but said some wore uniforms. The training focused on use of anti-tank weaponry. Some 200 men have already received such training over the past three months and there are plans in the future to provide training for a total 1,200 members of the "Free Syrian Army" in two camps in the south and the east...

Sen. John Kerry, who sources say has been tapped by President Barack Obama to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, will come to the post with a full plate of foreign policy crises, from the civil war in Syria, to the nuclear antics of North Korea, to a looming showdown with Iran over its nuclear program. Anybody who follows Clinton would have some pretty big shoes to fill. Clinton was not just the most popular member of the president's Cabinet for the past four years, she had celebrity status and respect almost everywhere she went around the world. But...

Kerry introduces law to bring Muslim workers to U.S. Posted on August 5, 2010 by creeping On the verge of a double-dip recession, unemployment at rarely seen levels, Islamic terrorism at record high levels, and Democrats want to bring workers from Muslim countries to the U.S.? Moreover, they want to send Americans into countries likely hostile to Americans and ruled by sharia law. Taxation for Islamization. via Daily Times – Kerry pushes US-Muslim nation exchanges. WASHINGTON: US Senator and chairman of Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, appealed on Tuesday for cementing US ties with the Muslim world with a...

"Air Force strikes in Gaza" SNIPPET: "IDF retaliates for deadly Qassam attack: Air Force hits several Gaza targets, including metal foundry, smuggling tunnel; Vice PM Shalom says Israel to offer strong response to rocket attack that killed Thai worker Thursday" SNIPPET: "IDF aircraft struck at least four targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, a day after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave killed a Thai worker in Israel, Hamas security officials and witnesses said." SNIPPET: "Israel also sent a letter of complaint to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is due to visit Israel at the weekend,...

White House plays down reports that Obama “punished” Netanyahu by keeping their talks private; Senator John Kerry heads to region to look into restarting Israel-Syria diplomatic process. No anti-Israel resolution on east Jerusalem was in the works at the UN Security Council, senior officials in Washington were quoted Tuesday as saying, amid reports that the US would not veto such a resolution if it were brought to the UN body. Ynet cited an Obama administration official as saying that no such initiative was before the Security Council, “and we are not pursuing or encouraging any such action.” The BBC, quoting...

John Kerry Threatens to Kill President Bush on Bill Maher http://feedblog.org/2006/10/08/john-kerry-threatens-to-kill-president-bush-on-bill-maher/ The recent episode of Bill Maher was awesome. Robin Williams and Richard Clarke were great but what I found really interesting was when John Kerry seemingly threatens to kill President Bush (which is a crime). (Maher asks Kerry what he got his wife for her birthday) kerry: I did not get her catchup *laughs* maher: … you could have gone to New Hampshire and killed two birds with one stone. *laughs* kerry: I could have gone to 1600 Pennsylvania and killed the real bird with one stone. *laughs* (You...

US senator meets PM, says US, Israel "talking from the same page" on Iran. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who for the last two weeks has loudly been calling for sanctions on Iran’s energy sector, received strong backing Monday when visiting US Sen. John Kerry supported the move. Kerry, the powerful head of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, said he “absolutely” supported sanctions against Iran’s energy industry. “I believe that the most biting and important sanctions would be those on the energy side,” Kerry told a press conference, after meeting Netanyahu. The senator said there were other sanctions that should be...

Stunning. That was my reaction when I listened to a freshman Republican Congressman rebut the principled position of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, that the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" needed to end and that gay members of the Armed Services should be able to serve their country without fear that just being who they are would end their service. It was especially alarming to hear the judgment of Admiral Mullen and Secretary Gates dismissed so easily as 'biased.' Anyone who knows Admiral Mullen or Bob...

Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Speeches & Remarks The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release October 23, 2009 Remarks by the President Challenging Americans to Lead the Global Economy in Clean Energy Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts 12:44 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please, have a seat. Thank you. Thank you, MIT. (Applause.) I am -- I am hugely honored to be here. It's always been a dream of mine to visit the most prestigious school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Applause.) Hold on a second --...

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) kicked off the new campaign on Thursday to create a national security push to pass climate change legislation. Climate change, Kerry argued, will likely trigger some of the most critical threats to national security in the future, and should be addressed with aggressive action this year. His speech was the keynote address at a conference that the American Security Project, a bipartisan national security think tank, hosted at The George Washington University. The event was titled, not so subtly, “The Day Before,” and marks the eve of the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Kerry, chair...

SNIPPET: "“The time has come for the United States to reclaim its rightful role as a diplomatic leader within the U.N. framework of climate change,” Kerry said. At the end of the first panel, Kerry defended the lack of detail in Stern’s testimony. “In fairness – I said this to Sen. Corker – Todd Stern made it clear to me prior to coming up here that not all of the T’s were crossed and I’s dotted,” the Massachusetts senator said. “I knew he was coming here today without the ability to fully flesh out every single component,” Kerry said. “I...

JOHN KERRY is in a public relations pickle. It's bad form to seem hungry for a Cabinet post, particularly if you've just run for reelection professing that there's nothing more in the once-vast realm of your ambition than serving the good and decent people of Massachusetts. But despite his office's attempt to knock the story down, Kerry is not only eyeing the secretary of state's job, he has emerged as a top contender for Foggy Bottom. "I think it's serious - and Kerry wants it," says one person close to Barack Obama's campaign. "If you look at the list of...

NEW YORK: John Kerry, who suffered defeat at the hands of President George Bush in last US elections, now harbours aspiration to become Secretary of State if presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama wins the race to the White House in November. Kerry, who is the third ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, is keen to be nation's top diplomat but does not eye the bigger prize of vice-presidency, Newsweek on Sunday quoted an unidentified source close to him as saying. That could also well be the case for Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, the committee's second-ranking Democrat and for Senator...

LOWELL – Gloucester attorney Ed O’Reilly got enough support from party officials today to ensure that he will give US Senator John F. Kerry his first Democratic primary challenge in 24 years. At the state Democratic Party convention at the Paul E. Tsongas Arena, O’Reilly got 22.5 percent of the 2,574 ballots cast, more than the 15 percent he needed to secure a spot on the primary ballot. Kerry got the majority of votes, which means he'll get the party's endorsement. "Party officials said this campaign is a nuisance. And it is. It’s a total nuisance," O’Reilly said to the...

It's Time to Talk to Syria By JOHN KERRY and CHUCK HAGEL June 5, 2008; Page A19 After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, President George H.W. Bush did the improbable and convinced Syrian President Hafez Assad to join an American-led coalition against a fellow Baathist regime. Today, these leaders' sons have another chance for a diplomatic breakthrough that could redefine the strategic landscape in the Middle East. The recent announcement of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria through Turkey, and the agreement between the Lebanese factions in Qatar – both apparently without meaningful U.S. involvement – should serve as a...

Behold the “global test” in action. Pray tell, dear Waffles, from whom will we be reclaiming it? "Dialogue helps us isolate Ahmadinejad rather than empowering him to isolate us. More important, even if we fail to reach an agreement, engaging Iran will spark three conversations likely to strengthen our position… The third conversation is with the world. By engaging Iran, we reclaim the moral high ground — no small feat. If Iran refuses to budge, we have new leverage to expose it as a threat whose bad intentions cannot be explained away." I’m curious to hear how Iran’s intentions might...