Marius Roeer/AP

So often we watch the news and see hundreds of people die from natural disasters. We have seen countries like Haiti ravaged by earthquakes, places like Indonesia destroyed by tsunamis, cities like New Orleans washed away by hurricanes, and most recently, towns like Joplin, Missouri blown away by tornados. We see events like these so often and are even at the point where we are almost always expecting another one to happen.

However, natural disasters are not the only mass killers and destroyers that hit the world.

Europe is experiencing an outbreak of E.coli at the moment that is sweeping the continent. As of Monday, the death count is already at fourteen innocent people. Hundreds more have become ill and are in poor condition after the outbreak.

It is believed that the E.coli is infecting cucumbers that are being distributed throughout Europe from Spain. According to the European Union, German officials have traced the outbreak to the Spanish towns of Malaga and Almeira. More cucumbers from Denmark and the Netherlands are also being looked into.

In Italy and Austrian, all foods coming from Spain are being inspected to make sure they are safe for the innocent citizens of each respective country to consume.

In Russia, all imports of select vegetables from both Germany and Spain have been outright banned for the time being.

So far, in Germany alone there have been ten deaths.

According to the European Union, it is unclear where the cucumbers were infected. Because of all the stops the vegetables make between their location of harvesting and their final destination and all of the people who handle them, it is difficult to pinpoint when the E.coli contamination occurred.

Officials in Spain are adamant that the contamination did not start in their state. They are demanding that German officials, as well as the European Union, prove their determinations that the outbreak did in fact start in the Spanish nation.

Rosa Aguilar, the Environment Minister from Spain said that there is a rush “to stop the damage on the reputation of Spain’s producers.” She furthered that the Spanish farmers “implement sanitary checkups responsibly, even above European Union requirements.”

Whether or not the outbreak began in Spain or occurred somewhere on the way to the final marketplace destination, the point of the matter is that there is an outbreak that is killing people and making hundreds more ill. This might not be a hurricane, earthquake, or any other natural disaster, but this is an important situation where innocent people are losing their lives and others are having their health threatened.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Just like every year, on December 31^st, millions of people from all around the world come together in various locations to celebrate the closing of one year and the beginning of the next one. In recent history we have seen such monumental occasions as the turning of the millennium when we counted down the last seconds of 1999 and transitioned into the year 2000 and faced the fears of the potential Y2K crisis, and the change into 2009 that marked the first time that a non-white male would be the President of the United States.

But this year, we enter a new decade as we change our calendars from 2010 to 2011.

This New Year will bring us a new Congress in mid January that is going to be controlled by the Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Democrats in the Senate and the beginning of the positioning for the primary elections for the 2012 Presidential election.

The year will be kicked off by a packed month of sports action led by the NCAA Division 1 football bowl games and the NFL playoffs leading to the Super Bowl.

Movies, musical releases, new books, and a slew of other events will also highlight the entertainment year.

To kick off the year, thousands migrated to New York City’s Times Square to count down at midnight and watch the ball drop. The celebration at Times Square is nothing new as it is one of the most famous New Year’s traditions in the world. People have been celebrating the New Year at Times Square since 1904.

For years the celebration has been hosted by the legendary Dick Clark, but due to health issues in recent years, Clark has taken a smaller role in the annual broadcast. Now, he is joined by Ryan Seacrest, who relieved Clark of much of his duties in order to make sure Clark does not overexert himself and risk further complications.

Other major celebrations throughout the world included Tokyo, Japan, Moscow Russia, Berlin, Germany, and various smaller locations all over the globe.

With each nation and culture having their own specific way of celebrating, every single one was worth viewing as they were being broadcast on television live as they were happening.

As everyone in the world rung in the New Year in whatever way they chose to, the entire world as a whole transitioned from 2010 to 2011 at the end of the day.

CNN/AFP/Getty

San Francisco (Obama.net)- The United States government has already approved the new nuclear weapons treaty between America and Russia. Wednesday, the United States Senate passed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty by a final vote of 71 to 26.

Friday, the Russian parliaments lower house passed the treaty as well. The final vote by the State Duma, as the lower house is known, was 350 to 58.

In January, the Russian parliament will go over the treaty for a second time. After that, another review of the treaty will be made, and then the treaty will go before the Federation Council, the Russian parliament’s upper house.

The treaty is designed to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in both the United States and Russia, the two largest carriers of nuclear weapons in the world by far.

In addition, the treaty is also part of improving relations between the United States and Russia and turning the two countries that were once enemies in the Cold War into modern day allies.

The agreement permits both states to evaluate the nuclear weapons of the other and make sure that neither side has more weapons than agreed upon. The treaty allows each state to only maintain seven hundred launchers and 1,550 warheads at any given moment.

Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, said that the treaty “will strengthen our country’s security (and) international stability, consolidate the non-proliferation regime, and become an additional factor encouraging positive trends both in our relations with the U.S. and on the international arena in general.”

President Barack Obama of the United States and President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia spoke on the phone about the treaty on Thursday. According to the White House, “President Medvedev congratulated President Obama on the Senate’s approval of the new START Treaty, and the two leaders agreed that this was an historic event for both countries and for U.S. -Russia relations.”

President Obama said that the treaty will allow the United States and Russia to lead the world in accomplishing the goal of riding the planet of nuclear weapons and making the world a safer place for all humans.

The new treaty marks an important achievement for President Obama in his foreign policy goals. While the treaty has only recently been agreed to and is still at least a few months away from being implemented, the safety of the world and both the United States and Russia have increased as a result.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

San Francisco (Obama.net)- At the beginning of November when the Republicans made big gains in the United States Senate and took over the house of Representatives, many assumed that Congress would go through its lame duck session without passing any legislature and simply be stuck in endless debates until Republicans take their seats in January.

However, Congress has been very active in passing new bills and making new policies in recent weeks.

The biggest issue settled was the new tax deal. Tax cuts were extended for all Americans for two years. Unemployment benefits were extended for thirteen months as well. In addition, the payroll tax was rolled back two percent for 2011 and tax breaks for students and their parents were also extended.

Also, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has finally been repealed by Congress. The repeal bill, which Obama signed on Wednesday, now enables open gay and lesbian troops to serve in the United States military.

Other new bills include START, also known as the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the nuclear weapons treaty with Russia that the Senate finally approved and the 9/11 Health Bill, which will provide free medical coverage for the survivors and responded from the September 11, 2001 attacks.

President Barack Obama is very happy about the unexpected turn of events. Obama said that the passing of so many new bills is a very important sign that “we’re not doomed to endless gridlock” in the Senate and the House. Obama also said, “We’ve shown in the wake of the November elections that we have the capacity not only to make progress, but to make progress together.”

Obama told reporters, “I think it’s fair to say that this has been the most productive postelection period we’ve had in decades and it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we’ve had in generations.”

However, Obama did express his disappointment in the inability of Congress to come together and pass the DREAM Act and enable some illegal immigrants from being able to earn their citizenship through showing good character while enrolled in college or serving in the military. The President called the bill not passing his “biggest disappointment.”

But overall, Obama did praise the good done by Congress recently. Obama said, “What we’ve shown is we don’t have to agree one hundred percent to get things done that enhance the lives of families all across America.”

San Francisco (Obama.net)- With the recent combat in the Yellow Sea between North Korea and South Korea and the subsequent threats made by North Korea pertaining to resuming the Korean War and attacking South Korea more, the leaders of the international community are growing impatient and are taking action.

Monday, the top diplomats from Japan and South Korea will arrive in the United States to speak with American officials, including Hilary Clinton, the Secretary of State, about how to handle the situation as tensions continue to rise.

Kim Sung-hwan, the Foreign Minister of South Korea said as he was leaving for the United States on Sunday, “how to draw cooperation from the international community and neighboring countries in dealing with the North’s attack and its uranium enrichment program and particularly, how to cooperate with China, will be the focus of the meeting.”

Japan’s Foreign Minister, Seiji Maehra will meet with Clinton privately before they meet with Kim Sung-hwan to formulate a final plan of action.

North Korea is still reporting in its media that the South is responsible for the recent escalation of problems and that the military drills of South Korea are not just drills, but threats against the Northern state.

The North’s Korean Central News Agency said that the military drills of South Korea are “rapidly driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to an uncontrollable extreme phase.”

Most likely leading to the displeasure of the North Korean government, on December 10^th, the United States and Japan will come together for the biggest military drills ever between the two states.

The cooperation of China, as well as Russia will be sought by the United States, South Korea, and Japan as the situation progresses. China and Russia were also part of the Six Party Talks that have been going on in recent years.

The United States is hoping that China will use its influence over North Korea to keep the isolationist state in check and keep them from further attacking South Korea or shifting their focus to Japan.

With the Korean War essentially on pause for the past 57 years, the last thing anyone in the region wants is for the combat to be restarted with modern weapons and with Kim Jong Il at the head of the northern state.

The talks on Monday are the start of what will hopefully be a swift process that will be bring the tensions between North Korea and South Korea to a halt.

San Francisco (Obama.net)- Just days after North Korea and South Korea engaged in what was the first direct combat seen in the Korean War since the early 1950’s, the nations in closest relation to them are now coming together to discuss the situation and try to figure out what needs to be done.

North Korea has been warning South Korea that if they continue to execute their military events, which they reportedly did early Sunday along American military officials in the Yellow Sea, then the war may be resumed and become greater than it was over half of a century ago.

Officials from the United States, Russia, Japan, and China came to Seoul to meet with South Korean officials to talk about what needs to be done to lower tensions in the region. The overall hope is to resolve the matter and bring in North Korean officials to join the five states and resume the Six Party Talks that have been put on pause for over two years.

Tuesday, North Korea attacked South Korea after shells from South Korean ammunition fell onto North Korean territory. The attack resulted in two marines dying and another fifteen getting hurt.

North Korea is using the military activities of both South Korea and the United States as an excuse to attack the two states. North Korea said, “if the U.S. brings its carrier to the West Sea of Korea at last, no one can predict the ensuing consequences.”

The four day long event that is reported to have begun on Sunday will be the true test to see if North Korea will act on their aggressive claims.

North Korea has a long history of being defiant of the United Nations and the international community. After repeatedly going against the wishes of the United Nations and disregarding sanctions imposed on them by the United Nations and the United States, one wonders why North Korea is so resistant of the Six Party Talks and why they are not thankful that they have not been completely blacklisted from the rest of the international community.

With the military drills taking place in the Yellow Sea over the next few days, the actions of North Korea will be closely watched. If they can restrain themselves and respect the events, then possibly there is hope for the peace talks to resume. If they cannot, then the prospect of war would become much more realistic.

AP

San Francisco (Obama.net)- On his third day in India, President Barack Obama stopped in New Delhi to make a major announcement in front of parliament. On what was also his third day of a ten-day tour of Asia, President Obama spoke on India’s hope to become a member of the United Nations Security Council.

Obama said that he, as well as his administration, support India’s hope to join the five winners of World War II on the Council.

Obama said, “In the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.”

India would join the United States, England, Russia, China, and France if it becomes a permanent member.

The President of the United States also addressed his hopes for more ties between America and India. Obama commented on his desire to see more economic and security partnerships between the two nations.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry immediately talked down the plans. A statement from Pakistan’s government said, “India’s aspirations for recognition as a global power notwithstanding, there are reasons enough to discredit this propose direction of the process of UNSC (United Nations Security Council) reforms.”

The Foreign Ministry said that the way India conducts itself with neighboring states, such as Pakistan, should be reason enough to discount India’s hope to gain a permanent seat on the Council.

The United States quickly responded as the White House released a statement saying that the government views India as a fast rising power in the international community, regardless of Pakistani claims.

It has yet to be determined when the talks to get India into the Security Council will begin.

Many fear that any effort put towards getting India a permanent seat will be fruitless. The United States has previously helped Brazil, Japan, and Germany in their quests to attain a seat, but no success was realized.

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is making a strong case for his country though. He has been promoting India’s message to “tackle nuclear terrorism” and India’s motion “to lead global efforts for nonproliferation and universal and nondiscriminatory global nuclear disarmament.”

With Pakistan adamant that India should not be added to the Council and the United States asserting that they should be included, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the international community as well as the other four members of the Security Council respond.

San Francisco (Obama.net)-

The Iranian President is being accused of funding nuclear projects for the purpose of military power. Ahmadinejad is denying all such claims. He added that Israel should also be reprimanded for their nuclear programs due to them also not being part of the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council is made up of the five nations who won World War II and thus are the only ones permitted by the UN to have nuclear weapons. Those nations are the United States, Russia, China, France, and England.

The scheduled meeting next month is to be attended by Iran, Germany, and the nations that make up the Security Council.

President Barack Obama has made it a point to reach peaceful agreements with Iran, but vey little progress has been made due to Ahmadinejad’s resistance and defiance.

It can be assumed that part of why Iran is so willing to talk all of the sudden stems from the multiple sanctions placed upon them recently by not only the United Nations, but also President Obama and the United States, as well as the European Union.

Ahmadinejad responded to the sanctions by saying, “they thought they can weaken the Iranian nation through imposing sanctions and posing threats, but Iranians have showed integrity, convergence, and strength.”

In addition, Iran is also making the claims that it has actually been trading more with the members of the Security Council, especially China, since the sanctions were first imposed in March. Iran did lose a large percentage of their imports from the United States.

The meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for November 15^th, is expected to have high implications for the future relations between Iran and the major powers of the world.

If things go well that day, trade with Iran and the movement for Iran to modernize could be underway. However, if things end poorly on that November day, then the threat of Iran’s nuclear powers would continue to grow along with the tensions between Iran and not only the United States, but also the United Nations and the European Union.

Reuters

San Francisco (Obama.net)- The potential problem of weapons of mass destruction has been on the top of the minds of American government officials for years. Ever since the invention of nuclear weapons, the dangers presented by the weapons have influenced political decisions and relations between states heavily. Iran has been banned from possessing nuclear weapons for years as the weapons are only permitted to be maintained by members of the United Nations Security Council.

Iran has still been proceeding with plans to start harnessing nuclear power. Iranian officials assert that the nuclear technology will be used solely for peaceful reasons, such as providing electricity to their people.

The city of Bushehr is the first nuclear plant in Iran to begin to be fueled in Iran.

The fueling process was overseen by officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as government officials from Iran and Russia.

Iranian officials say that it will be at least two months before the electricity will begin to be produced and be available for use by the Iranian people.

President Barack Obama recently sanctioned Iran for their use of nuclear technology as the United States, the United Nations, and other members of the international community all believe that the power may be used for nuclear weapons in the future.

However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei believes that Iran has all the right in the world to have nuclear energy plants.

Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesperson, has said that Iran does not need to make its own nuclear energy because, as evidenced by Russia’s assistance on Saturday, Iran can simply get the power from Russia and other states to provide electricity for its people.

Iran’s actions have led to the blacklisting of numerous banks, businesses, and individuals in the state by the rest of the international community. The Iranian economy is expected to drop due to the lack of international business that will result from the sanctions.

While the majority of the world does not approve of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, time will tell whether or not the nuclear power will only be used for peaceful reasons, or if nuclear weapon construction is in the Middle Eastern state’s future.

However, President Barack Obama has worked vigorously to change that and statistics show that a positive change in the balance of imports and exports has come. The balance is becoming more even as the first third of 2010 saw an increase of seventeen percent in American exports to the rest of the world.

This is all part of President Obama’s National Export Initiative, which is scheduled to double the amount of American exports over the next half decade. First announced as part of President Obama’s State of the United Address earlier this year, the plan is all part of Obama’s overall scheme to bring significant economic growth to the United States.

Obama stressed the importance of exporting to the rest of the world on Wednesday. Obama stated, “This isn’t just about where jobs are today. This is where American jobs will be tomorrow. Ninety-five percent of the world’s customers and fastest growing markets are beyond our borders,” and “we’ve got to compete for those new customers because other nations are.”

Via the Initiative, Obama is providing the exporters of the United States with their business by eliminating trade barriers and increasing free trade and economic cooperation throughout the world.

Obama cited the recent trade agreements with both China and Russia as factors that will lead to improving the American economy. Obama said that the agreements with the two states will bring over one billion dollars to the businesses of the United States.

As time progresses, Obama’s hard work has already started to improve the economy of the United States of America. This is quite evident in the dramatic increase in the increase of American exports, which are only beginning to rise. With the quick improvements via Obama’s plans, only more dramatic progressions can be foreseen.