Joe Biden

[Rasputin]

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. ( born November 20, 1942) is the senior United States Senator from Delaware and the Vice President-elect of the United States. Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and lived there for ten years prior to moving to Delaware.

He became an attorney in 1969, and was elected to a county council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and became the fifth-youngest senator in U.S. history. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008, and has served for the sixth-longest period among current senators.

[Rasputin]

Enthusiastic crowd welcomes Biden home to Delaware

Vice president-elect Joe Biden, riding in a horse-drawn, white carriage with his wife, Jill, received a hero's welcome Thursday on his first trip home since the election.

Biden was the star attraction at the Delaware postelection tradition known as Return Day, when winners and losers of political contests get together to symbolically "bury the hatchet" and end the campaign season.

"It feels great, it feels great," Biden said as he waved to crowds lining the streets of this southern Delaware town. "This is home."

Biden's carriage, preceded by a motorcycle escort and followed by mounted police, led a parade that wound through the center of town.

While the tradition calls for winners and losers to ride together, Biden's Senate challenger, Christine O'Donnell, rode in a separate carriage. O'Donnell said she was told that the Biden camp preferred they not ride together, but that she understood security concerns had to be taken into account.

Security was heavy throughout the event, and roads into town were barricaded Thursday morning. Unlike previous Return Days, visitors were required to pass through metal detectors before entering the town circle.

"Hey folks!" Biden, who represents Delaware in the Senate, shouted repeatedly to onlookers who stood for hours in the rain to catch a glimpse of the next vice president. Many screamed loudly in celebration of the Barack Obama-Biden victory in Tuesday's presidential race.

"Good job Joe!" a man shouted.

"We love you, Biden!" a woman yelled as the carriage passed.

In brief remarks to the drenched crowd assembled in front of a stage where dignitaries gathered, Biden said he would remain true to Delaware, no matter what office he holds.

"I may be the vice president-elect, but we're going to be home every weekend," he said, adding that senator "is the proudest title I've ever had."

He won't have it for much longer, however. While easily beating O'Donnell to win re-election to a seventh term, Biden will have to resign from the Senate before being sworn in as vice president on Jan. 20.

Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner is expected, before she leaves office, also on Jan. 20, to appoint a replacement to fill the seat until the 2010 election.

Minner said she has not settled on a choice and that she has not talked to Biden, but will listen to his input.

"Joe Biden and I have been friends since 1972, and I value his counsel so much," Minner said, nevertheless affirming that "it's my decision."

Biden didn't give away any secrets when an AP reporter asked about the future of his Senate seat.

"We're going to spend some time thinking about it," he said. "I'll be spending some time talking to my friends."

[Rasputin]

US Vice-President Joe Biden has called for G20 protesters to give governments a chance to tackle the economic crisis.

At a G20 warm-up meeting in Chile, Mr Biden said heads of state would agree proposals to remedy the crisis at next week's meeting in London.

As they spoke, tens of thousands of protesters marched in the UK capital and in Germany, France and Italy.

US billionaire George Soros told the BBC the G20 meeting was "make or break" for the world economy.

"Unless they do something for developing world there will be serious collapse in that part of the world," Mr Soros said.

Massive security operation

At a news conference in Vina del Mar, Mr Biden said he hoped the protesters would give the politicians a chance.

"Hopefully we can make it clear to them that we're going to walk away from this G20 meeting with some concrete proposals," he said.

G20 LONDON SUMMIT

World leaders will meet next week in London to discuss measures to tackle the downturn. See our in-depth guide to the G20 summit.
The G20 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US and the EU.


Q&A: G20 Summit
Protesters: What they want
G20 'make or break', Soros says

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he understood why people were demonstrating in the UK.

"We will respond to [the protest] at the G20 with measures that will help create jobs, stimulate business and get the economy moving," he said.

But Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told the Chile meeting that everyone was suffering from the recklessness of those who had turned the world economy into "a gigantic casino".

"We are rejecting blind faith in the markets," he said.

In London on Saturday, demonstrators demanding action on poverty, jobs and climate change called on G20 leaders to pursue a new kind of global justice.

Police estimated 35,000 marchers took part in the event.

A series of rallies are planned for Wednesday and Thursday by a variety of coalitions and groups campaigning on a range of issues from poverty, inequality and jobs, to war, climate change and capitalism.

There have been reports that banks and other financial institutions could be targeted in violent protests.

British officials have put a huge security operation in place.

'We won't pay'

Before the London summit, Mr Brown has been visiting a number of countries trying to rally support for his economic plans.



George Soros discusses the importance of the G20 for the world economy.
In Chile on Friday he said people should not be "cynical" about what could be achieved at the summit, saying he was optimistic about the likely outcome.

But in an interview, German Chancellor Angela Merkel dampened expectations of a significant breakthrough.

She said one meeting would not be enough to solve the economic crisis and finish building a new structure for global markets.

In Berlin, thousands of protesters took to the streets on Saturday with a message to the G20 leaders: "We won't pay for your crisis."

Another march took place in the city of Frankfurt. The demonstrations attracted as many as 20,000 people.

In the Italian capital, Rome, several thousand protesters took to the streets.

In Paris, around 400 demonstrators dumped sand outside the stock exchange to mock supposed island tax havens.

[Rasputin]

جو بایدن معاون ریاست جمهوری آمریکا هرگونه حمله نظامی اسرائیل به ایران را نابخردانه خوانده اما بعید دانسته است که دولت جدید اسراییل دستور حمله به تاسیسات اتمی ایران را صادر کند.

جو بایدن روز سه شنبه ۷ آوریل در مصاحبه با شبکه سی ان ان آمریکا گفت معتقد است که بنیامین نتانیاهو نخست وزیر جدید اسرائیل علیه ایران دست به اقدام نظامی نخواهد زد.

بنیامین نتانیاهو بارها ایران را بزرگترین خطر برای اسراییل دانسته است.

معاون رییس جمهوری آمریکا در عین حال گفته است هرگونه تصمیم احتمالی نخست وزیر جدید اسراییل برای حمله به ایران نابخردانه خواهد بود اما تاکید کرده است نگرانی اش در اینباره نسبت به سال گذشته تغییر نکرده است.

جو باید اولین مقام ارشد آمریکایی نیست که در روزهای اخیر درباره موضوع حمله نظامی اسراییل به ایران صحبت می کند.

رابرت گیتس وزیر دفاع آمریکا نیز روز دوم ماه میلادی جاری گفته بود به عقیده او، در احتمال حمله اسراییل به ایران در سال جاری تردید وجود دارد.

رابرت گیتس، وزیر دفاع آمریکا، در گفتگوی اختصاصی با روزنامه بریتانیایی فایننشال تایمز گفته بود آمریکا و اسراییل فرصت کافی دارند تا ایران را متقاعد کنند سیاست هسته ای خود را تغییر دهد.

ایران بر صلح آمیز بودن برنامه اتمی خود تاکید دارد و هشدار داده است که به شدت به هرگونه حمله به تاسیسات اتمی این کشور پاسخ خواهد داد.

باراک اوباما رییس جمهوری آمریکا بر دیپلماسی مستقیم و جدی برای حل و فصل مناقشه اتمی ایران تاکید دارد اما در عین حال توسل به گزینه نظامی علیه ایران را نیز رد نمی کند.