Is the World tiring of US leadership?

Germany slams 'stupid' US plans to boost EU rescue fund

Stupid US Treasury Secretary?

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said it would be a folly to boost the EU's bail-out machinery (EFSF) beyond its €440bn lending limit by deploying leverage to up to €2 trillion, perhaps by raising funds from the European Central Bank.

"I don't understand how anyone in the European Commission can have such a stupid idea. The result would be to endanger the AAA sovereign debt ratings of other member states. It makes no sense," he said.

Mr Schauble told Washington to mind its own businesss after President Barack Obama rebuked EU leaders for failing to recapitalise banks and allowing the debt crisis to escalate to the point where it is "scaring the world".

"It's always much easier to give advice to others than to decide for yourself. I am well prepared to give advice to the US government," he said. ...

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Gibbering?

Fidel Castro calls Barack Obama UN address 'gibberish'

Cuba's Fidel Castro criticised Barack Obama's speech to the United Nations as "gibberish" on Monday, saying the US president used a rambling address to justify the "unjustifiable." ...

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Iran May Send Warships Near US Waters

Iranian Navy off US coast? A "strong presence."

American beachgoers soon may have more to look out for than jellyfish and cast members of "Jersey Shore."

Iran's navy warned Tuesday that it planned to deploy ships near the Atlantic coast of the United States as part of its goal to create a "strong presence" in international waters.

"Just like the global hegemony that is present near our marine borders, we … also plan to establish a strong presence near US marine borders," IRNA quoted Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying on Tuesday. ...

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