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Ten Most Influential Conservatives In Washington
Gavel Them To The Right And John Roberts Tops The List
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1. John Roberts
Supreme Court Chief Justice
Aged 50 when he joined in 2005, he was the third youngest man to lead the court and has been a reliable conservative so far. In 2008, the court overturned on a 5-4 vote the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with the Second Amendment of the Constitution.
2. Dick Cheney
Former Vice President of the United States
A low key and intensely loyal vice-president, Dick Cheney has emerged as the principal tormentor of Barack Obama in the past year, shaping the national debate on national security and forcing the White House to scramble to respond.
3. Rush Limbaugh
Talk radio host
The king of conservative talk radio – in fact, any talk radio – continues to go from strength to strength. Much slimmer, due to get married for a fourth time on the Fourth of July and having just survived a heart attack scare in Honolulu, Limbaugh’s influence continues to expand far beyond his show.
4. Sarah Palin (Not in the 2007 list)
Former Alaska governor
Palin came from nowhere in terms of the public consciousness in 2008 to become an instant political and media star who is vilified and lauded in equal measure. Things have not been smooth for Palin. Clearly unprepared to be a national candidate, John McCain rolled the dice when he chose her as his vice-presidential running mate.
5. Robert Gates
Defence Secretary
The low-key Gates, a former CIA director whose original cover (soon blown) as a trainee spy was as a Pentagon official, was lured away from his beloved Texas A&M University by President George W. Bush to replace Donald Rumsfeld at the end of 2006. Obama dismayed many liberals by asking Gates to stay on but even though it is clear he is fulfilling much more than a caretaker his detractors are now quiet.
6.Roger Ailes
President, Fox News Channel
When Roger Ailes, a veteran media consultant for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr, heard that his boss Rupert Murdoch was preparing to back Obama for President in a New York Post editorial, he threatened to resign. Murdoch responded by giving him a pay rise (he is said to have earned $23 million last year – more than Murdoch) and endorsing John McCain.
7. Paul Ryan
Wisconsin congressman
Paul Ryan has it all – including time on his side. He entered Congress at the tender age of 28 and doesn’t turn 40 until this year. A budget hawk, he is now the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee
8. George W. Bush
Former President
Aides protested that history would vindicate him and already there are signs that this is may not happen so easily. There were terrible errors committed along the way, and the cost of the damages of the bush years would take decades to rebuild.
9. Eric Cantor (-)
Congressman for Virginia
A youthful 46, Cantor is routinely – and accurately - described as a rising star, becoming Minority Whip a year ago after eight years in the House of Representatives. The only Jewish Republican in Congress, he advocates a strong US-Israeli alliance.
10. John McCain
Senator for Arizona
The losing Republican presidential candidate’s concession speech on election night in 2008 was one of his finest moments, a shining example of the dignity, fairness and patriotism that McCain’s supporters have always love the his character.
Ten Top Women in America 2010
These Women Gracefully Accepted The Challenges Of Their Time
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"There are obstacles and opportunities for women in every industry," says Rivera. "I think in 2009 we saw that women are making their names in more and more male-dominated industries on a grand scale. All my experience and research shows me that women can do extraordinarily well in most organizations and industries, no matter how long it has been a bastion of male dominance or how widespread and ingrained that dominance has been. The women of 2009 have further proven that."
Here's a look at the women who made a big splash in male-dominated industries in 2009:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Why being a gracious loser can make you a winner after all. It has been said that second place is the first loser, but in the case of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, second best has never looked so good. After losing the race for the democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama in 2008, most Americans waited for the smear campaign to begin. But instead, the former senator used her political powers to help her opponent win the presidency, and in turn, earned her most recent position as the Secretary of State.
Country Music Star Taylor Swift: You're never too young to be the best. When Taylor Swift burst onto the country music scene at the tender age of 16, she had high hopes for where her music career would take her...someday. Three years later, Swift is having the kind of year that some stars can only hope to have after devoting their entire lives to the music biz. nominations and a nearly sold-out tour to look forward to," says Rivera.
News Anchor Katie Couric: How hanging in there can pay off. Well known as "America's Sweetheart" on the Today show, Katie Couric appealed to viewers across America with her infectious and warm personality. In 2006, she left her job at NBC to become anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, making her the first solo female news anchor in history and the highest paid news anchor at the time.
Talk Show Host Ellen DeGeneres: Why labels don't matter. Written off by critics and fans alike after publicly coming out in 1997, Ellen DeGeneres is back and bigger than ever. Though her television show was cancelled shortly after she, along with her on-screen character, came out and ratings declined, DeGeneres made a comeback in 2001 when she hosted the 2001 Emmy Awards and did the voice of Dory in Disney's animated hit Finding Nemo. DeGeneres did things her way again in 2003 with the launch of her daytime television show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Sportscaster Erin Andrews: Don't be the victim. Erin Andrews has always played nice. The daughter of an Emmy Award-winning journalist, Andrews was a natural when it came to pursuing a career in communications. After working for several regional networks in the south, she joined the ESPN team in 2004, and until recently was best known for her presence on the sidelines at college football and professional baseball games. All of this changed when compromising videos of Andrews surfaced on the Internet. The videos, taken by a stalker via the peephole in the door to her hotel room, unleashed a scandal in the media that went so far as to accuse Andrews of being a participant in the video's production. .
Women's Basketball Coach Pat Summitt: Succeeding at a man's game. Coaching is Pat Summitt's passion, and it shows. Her time as the head coach of the University of Tennessee's women's basketball team has been successful, to say the least. After years of conference and national championships, in 2009 Summitt's victories earned her the distinction as the only coach, man or woman, in Division I basketball history to win 1,000 games. And Summitt's achievements don't stop there: She was recently named the Naismith Coach of the 20th Century. Beating the boys at their own game must feel good.
Former Vice Presidential Nominee, Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin: Be heard. Whether you love her or hate her, there's no denying that Sarah Palin didn't let losing in the 2008 presidential election or resigning as governor of Alaska stop her from getting her message out to the American people. Instead of laying low or letting the uber-criticism she's received get to her, she hit the road on a book tour for her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, including a stop on the Oprah Winfrey Show where she netted the highest ratings in two years.
Environmentalist Jane Goodall: The power of a lifelong passion. Jane Goodall is the face of a movement. Interested in animals since a young age, Goodall would eventually study chimpanzee social interactions for 45 years. During this time, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, recognized for its conservation and development programs in Africa. Earlier this year, Goodall released her fourteenth book, Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink, which was named by Amazon.com as one of its must-read titles of 2009. Now dedicating all of her time to advocacy for the environment and chimpanzees, Goodall is a testament to the impact one person's passion can have on the world.
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi: How to be the right one, baby! Climbing the corporate ladder from India to the United States, Indra Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1997 and has only looked up from there. When PepsiCo needed some fizzle to boost their sales, Nooyi led the restructuring of the company in ventures such as the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Nooyi's hard work did not go unnoticed when, after six years as CFO, she became the fifth CEO in the company's history in 2007.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair: And you can take that to the bank! At the time of her appointment as chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila Bair could not have guessed a financial crisis would put her front and center just two years into her tenure. Bair's extensive background in finance and banking, including positions at the New York Stock Exchange and the U.S. Department of Treasury, prepared her to preside over the nation's financial decisions during the recent recession, a critical time for all Americans. "Bair's swift response to the financial crisis, like raising the amount for insured deposits, earned her the status of the second most powerful woman in the world according to Forbes," says Rivera.
"These women have all gracefully accepted the challenge to break down barriers in industries typically dominated by men," says Rivera. "Whether you love them, hate them, or don't want to read another word about them, you cannot deny the mark they made on 2009. I can't wait to see what great women take up the challenge in 2010!"
The Democratic Left is Showing Signs of Impatients With Obama
Polls Shows Frustration is Growing
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On health care, the war in Afghanistan, civil liberties and the economy, President Barack Obama is facing increasing opposition from the democratic wing of the democratic party. A health care package that lacks the government-run insurance plan. Even organized labor, one of the president's most loyal, most powerful constituencies, is making it clear that unions feel Obama has compromised too much.
Andrew Stern, the president of the Service Employees International Union, told its members that Obama "must remember his own words from the campaign. His call of 'Yes We Can' was not just to us, not just to the millions of people who voted for him, but to himself. The democrats liberal wing's frustrations go beyond health care. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., this week warned Obama not to expect her to deliver him the votes to fund his proposed troop buildup in Afghanistan; he'll have to make the case himself. The term to describe the feeling now is "impatience.", many believe his position is naive. The focus should be on the democrats not the republican. Obama's white house should better start moving toward taking his party than trying to take the unwilling republicans one analyst said. He should come clean and say, it was a good attempt, our reach out to the replican leaders has failed, we would continue to reach out to the republicans in the country so we can govern all Americans, but the democrats have the goods and they are delivering for America.
Man Arrested For Throwing Tomatoes At Sarah Palin
Instead The Tomatoes Hit a Guarding Police Officer
A minnetonka Minnesota man was arrested for allegedly throwing two tomatoes at Sarah Palin from the second floor balcony during a book signing event at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Neither tomato hit the targeted former 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee. One however did hit a police officer who was guarding the former vice presidential candidate in the face.
The Minnesota man presently unidentified, may face police charges for assaulting a police officer on duty, according to the police reports from Minnetonka. Die-hard supporters treated the event like another Black Friday, lining up outside in freezing weather before the mall doors opened at 5 a.m.
Palin did not address the crowd and did not take any questions, but started signing books immediately. Fans and buyers wanting a signed copies had to purchase it from Barnes & Noble.
A Heart To Serve - Bill Frist
A New Book By Former US Senate Leader William H. Frist
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Just in Time For the Health Care Debate in Washington
Nashville, Tenn (October, 2009) - Dr. William H. Frist was an unlikely choice as a political leader. A world-renowned heart and lung transplant surgeon, he was elected as a Tennessee Senator in 1993 and rose through the congressional ranks to become U.S. Senate Majority Leader in 2003, faster than anyone in history. Yet Dr. Frist was at heart still a citizen legislator, a throwback to an ideal that had seemed to have almost died off in Washington.
In his new book A Heart to Serve: The Passion to Bring Health, Hope and Healing (Center Street, October 5, 2009), Doctor-Senator Frist recounts his proudest accomplishments as well as his biggest failures. A Heart to Serve is not a political memoir; it is a collection of leadership lessons lived and learned. Senator Frist offers us an insightful set of powerful principles for leadership and community service unique to his extraordinary experience with family, medicine and politics.
A Heart to Serve is the story of how a gifted doctor with a passion for serving others would be elected as a U.S. Senator to serve his home state of Tennessee and then walk away, keeping his pledge to serve two terms as a "citizen-legislator." Frist believes there is more to life than politics and that we are called to make a difference in other people's lives whether or not we are active in the political arena. This call to serve is the defining driver of Bill Frist's remarkable life. Frist recounts stories of family and friends who influenced his work, life, and service, such as his family, pioneering surgeon Dr. Norman Shumway, General David Petraeus, Bono, Franklin Graham, and his Senate staff who helped him craft important legislation that improved the lives of others, both here at home and around the world.
In riveting detail and colorful prose, A Heart to Serve tells the story of a man shaped by a family committed to the philosophy of helping others, the legacy of hard work and innovation to solve seemingly insurmountable problems learned in a medical career, and an inspiring story of what can be accomplished through a life lived in the service of others. Senator Frist gives readers a stirring and inspirational example to consider in their own lives. Among the highlights of Bill Frist's remarkable journey recounted in A Heart to Serve:
The terrible high school accident that put Bill in the hospital for weeks, giving him a sense of mortality at an early age
How attending Princeton immersed Bill Frist in a totally different world and culture, how he adjusted to the loneliness, culture shock and eventually succeeded there--including convincing school officials to keep ROTC on campus in 1972
Frist's first-hand experience as a physician employed by the British National Health Service and how it impacted his views on socialized medicine and the single-payer system
The creation of a unique, multidisciplinary, multi-organ transplant center
An unlikely meeting: The accidental shooting of General David Petraeus in 1991; Dr. Frist was the surgeon on-call at Vanderbilt and performed the life-saving emergency surgery
The harrowing account of his 1998 foray into Sudan to bring medical supplies and care to peoples of that war-torn region, a trip Frist made not as a Senator (though he was) but as a doctor and humanitarian
How being the first doctor in the Senate in decades gave him a unique perspective on contentious healthcare issues ... and at times saved lives, as on the tragic day when a deranged gunman opened fire in the Capitol
The behind-the-scenes, insider account of his rise to Senate Majority Leader, crafting unprecedented legislation to fight a single disease (HIV), and the bill that provides prescription drugs for seniors
The politics, intrigue, and distortions that embroiled the battle to save the life of Terri Schiavo, and insights into how his background influenced his decisions during that episode
Senator Frist's greatest Senate challenge, biggest mistake, and legislation of which he is most proud
A Heart to Serve is not a roadmap for a life in politics, but it is a roadmap for a life of service. A reminder that success in life is defined by how we conduct ourselves and whether we have helped our fellow man--a truth that applies equally to the common citizen as well as to the Senate Majority Leader.
A Heart to Serve: The Passion to Bring Health, Hope and Healing
by William H. Frist, MD
Former Senate Majority Leader
Race in American Politics
By Paul Oranika
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President Obama: The Continuing Significance of Race in American Politics
By Paul Okechukwu Oranika
American social scientist Harold Laswell wrote a book some decades ago and talked about the “declining significance of racism in America”. Today the theme of a new book in such genre would be the “continuing significance of racism in America”. Although one can argue that Obama would not have become the American president without overwhelming support from white Americans. Yes that statement is true; the corollary is that there are also large segments of the white American population, mostly republican right-wingers who are bent on derailing the Obama presidency.
Even after Obama won the presidency, resistance to his administration has continued. Americans have always protested about government spending and policies deemed detrimental to the interest of American citizens. Those who are still unable to accept the fact that Obama, the son of a black African immigrant, an African American is running this country, are seeking new ways to reject and resit his leadership. This problem in the minds of some white Americans is being aggravated when images of a black president and his wife, and children are beamed everyday from the white house into their homes.
There is still an ongoing allegation being circulated among some Americans that Obama is not an America citizen. Some American republican members of the House of Representatives, along with rightwing radio talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh continues to fan these allegations largely based on race appealing information and unfounded rumours. Some went as far as forging a fake Obama birth certificate which was widely circulated on the internet.
The Obama healthcare initiative may have given more ammunition to these hate mongers. Many are now rallying round such issue to resist president Obama. In an address to both houses of congress, a South Carolina senator by name Joe Wilson did what no other law maker has done in the history of the United States. Wilson basically shouted the words “You lie” at the president while he delivered the health care address to joint houses of Congress.
In further continuation of these racially motivated protests, the Boston Tea Party movement was organized. Members of this group numbered about 75,000 marched and rallied in the capitol in Washington DC against Obama in a disguise of anti healthcare agenda. Many of those demonstrators drawn from across the United States do not even know what the Obama healthcare agenda is all about. Several play cards seen at the rally in Washington DC states “We want our nation back” The question is back from what? This is an obvious assumption that a non-American has taken their country away from them. Other demonstrators carried signs calling president Obama “a socialist”, others called him “Marxist”.
These racist attitudes to Obama presidency has now taken a major turn when the former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter called these demonstrations to Obama nothing but a rejection and resistance of the fact that a black president is running this country. Jimmy Carter is right in my view, and the former president has elevated this issue to another level. Many Americans are in denial. Racism is alive and well in this country. These developments helped me to conclude that racism in America has a continuing significance for many Americans.
Some white Americans are legitimately concerned about health care reforms and the skyrocketing deficits in trillions, of dollars. Nevertheless the case of healthcare reforms must no longer be ignored. More than 46 million Americans have no healthcare insurance. President Obama promised Americans that his healthcare package would not add a dime to the growing American deficit, and if such law arrives at his desk, that he would not sign it into law. He deserves to be given credit and a chance. America has made significant progress in race relations. Minorities were thankful to significant numbers of white Americans who made the Obama presidency a reality, suffices to say that much work remains to be done to take this country to a higher elevation of race relations.
Paul Okechukwu Oranika, Chief Editor, Transatlantictimes Magazine, Atlanta Bureau, Atlanta Georgia USA Email oranika@yahoo.com
Plans To Unseat Yar' Adua's PDP With Diaspora Votes Uncovered
Schemers Seek to Manipulate Diaspora Groups
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August 31, 2009
A scheme to unseat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wing of President Umar Yar’Adua in the 2011 elections with the votes of Nigerians in Diaspora is reported to have been uncovered.
It is believed that the plan was hatched in 2008 by elements of some political parties in the Nigerian opposition.
Usually reliable sources said the move is spearheaded by the New Democrats led by Prof. Isa Odidi, the Canada-based pharmaceutical company owner. It was gathered that in March 2009 the the New Democrats enlisted the support of some PDP leaders in their plan.
Their strategy aims at a methodical introduction of the Diaspora Voting Rights bill in the National Assembly from within the ruling PDP, and move to introduce the matter before the current Constitution Amendment Committee.
The schemers also seek to wrest control of the major Nigerian Diaspora groups, the All Nigerian American Congress (ANAC) and NIDO.
The goal is to take ownership of the expected yields from the Diaspora voting bill, and thus enhance the chances of their PDP wing in their plans to present their candidate as an alternative to Yar’Adua in the 2011 elections.
Sources disclosed that efforts to politicize NIDO and ANAC--the two leading not-for-profit organizations representing the interest of Nigerians abroad are underway as many of the NIDO and ANAC trustees and leaders have been lobbied to accept the idea with promises of leadership positions in the PDP wing.
Confirmation Hearing Lesson for Nigerian Senate
TTimes World Report
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Confirmation Hearing 101 for David Mark & Co.
By Pius Adesanmi
It is sad that Senate President, David Mark, did not lead a delegation of Nigerian Senators to Washington to observe the recent Senate confirmation hearings for Barack Obama’s cabinet nominees. In fact, had Nigeria’s entire Senate moved to Washington during this process, no Nigerian would have dismissed the trip as an estacode-guzzling proposition. Our polity is in dire need of what our distinguished senators could have learnt from such a classroom experience in the US Capitol. I know a few Nigerians in Washington who, desperate for change at home, would have supplied notepads, jotters, and pens to the apprentice senators as their contribution to national development. If necessary, I would have shipped chalk and wooden black slates to them in Washington to facilitate their classroom experience.
Had Senator David Mark and his fellow lawmakers registered for and attended the Confirmation Hearing 101 course in Washington, they would have learnt crucial lessons that would have reduced their lamentable ignorance of confirmation procedures and saved the Nigerian people the agony of witnessing the periodic circus they call senate confirmation hearings in Abuja. For starters, Senator Mark and co. would have witnessed the rigorous grilling of as important a figure as Hillary Rodham Clinton by her former senate colleagues. They would have been surprised – no, shocked – that the John Kerry-led Foreign Relations Committee didn’t just ask this famous American and former first lady to “take a bow” and be sworn into office three seconds later.
Imagine Hillary Clinton’s Nigerian equivalent, Maryam Babangida, appearing for confirmation before David Mark and his people in Abuja! We would have had a bunch of cackling sycophants over-reaching themselves to play footsie with her ego: “Ah, Madam, welcome to your Senate confirmation hearing ma. Hope Her Excellency had a nice trip to Abuja o? What about our General ma? What, he accompanied you to Abuja ke? He really shouldn’t have bothered, ma. We are his boys. Who are we to invite an elder statesman? Take a bow ma. Winner ooo winner, winner ooo winner, Her Excellency you don win o winner pata pata you go win forever winner. Bye-bye ma”
Back in Washington, our senators would have witnessed the grueling questioning of such power brokers as Timothy Geithner, Eric Holder, and Tom Daschle. They would have been dumbfounded that Senator Daschle’s nomination as Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary collapsed under the weight of the sin of tax evasion. In their Abuja universe, it would be unthinkable to have a former Senate President appear for confirmation for a cabinet position and suffer the indignity of even being questioned about his taxes in the first place! The Nigerian equivalents of the Obama nominees whose candidacies fell through are all “big men”, “stakeholders”, and “chieftains” who, by definition, are above the laws of the land and such demeaning processes as confirmation hearings, hence the perfunctory ritual of taking a bow.
The Nigerian people pay a considerable price for this tragic culture of demission on the part of our Senators. Their comical approach to confirmation hearings largely explains how President Yar’Adua has been able to get away with two of the most somnambulistic cabinets in the nation’s history. It also explains the new meaning we have given to multitasking in Nigeria. It is possible for a single individual with a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic and Arabic studies, who has served in every administration since Lord Lugard, to survive three cabinet reshuffles in the life of a single administration, moving from, say, the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Information and, finally, to the Ministry of Science and Technology. Naturally, this individual would face three separate senate confirmation hearings, claiming expertise in all these areas and taking the perfunctory bow each time.
There is one important last lesson our senators could have learnt in Washington: the proper way to use legislative aides and personal assistants. They would have noticed that each confirmation hearing committee member was in session with his or her aides seated behind him or her. They would have noticed the endless passing of scribbled notes between each senator and his/her aides. These are the aides who would have spent thousands of hours poring over documents, verifying the resume of the Cabinet nominee, checking and cross-checking every detail, and preparing the interventions of their principals. In Abuja, the counterparts of these congressional aides loiter in the corridors of the national assembly, flashing important-looking business cards at every opportunity. Yet, all they really do is carry the briefcases and the cell phones of their principals, buy recharge cards, kolanuts, suya, and newspapers, and make themselves generally useful as part of the big man’s “protocol”.
Pius Adesanmi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Project on New African Literatures (PONAL)
Department of English
Carleton University
Ottawa, Canada
Ireland to vote on key EU treaty
The Irish Republic is due to vote in a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, which would change the way in which the European Union is run.
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All other 26 EU states have left the issue to their parliaments, but Ireland is obliged to hold a popular vote on changes to its constitution.All of the main Irish parties back the treaty but the No campaign has been putting up a strong challenge.With many voters undecided, opinion polls suggest the result will be close.Voters will be asked whether or not they approve an amendment to the constitution which would allow Ireland to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon.The treaty's main provisions include a smaller European Commission, the removal of the national veto in more policy areas, a new president of the European Council and a strengthened foreign affairs post.
In 2001, Irish voters almost wrecked EU plans to expand eastwards when they rejected the Nice treaty. It was only passed in a much-criticised second vote.
Ireland's EU Minister, Dick Roche, predicted on the eve of polling that the Yes campaign would win but the result would be "very, very close".Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, urged all EU states to back the treaty, which is due to come into force on 1 January 2009.Speaking after Finland and Estonia became the latest EU members to ratify the treaty in their parliaments, he said the reforms would strengthen the EU to meet global challenges.The No campaign is a broad coalition ranging from lobby group Libertas to Sinn Fein, the only party in parliament to oppose the treaty.Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said a successful No vote would give Ireland's "government a strong mandate to negotiate a better deal for Ireland".
US and EU 'to issue Iran warning'
US President George W Bush is to hold talks with European Union leaders later on Tuesday as they meet in Slovenia for their twice-yearly summit.
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The BBC's Oana Lungescu in Ljubljana says they are expected to issue a joint warning to Tehran that more sanctions against Iran's banks are being readied.They are pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear programme, rejecting claims it is solely for peaceful purposes.Mr Bush's trip is expected to be his last Europe tour while in office.Mr Bush's week-long trip also takes him to Germany, Italy, France, the Vatican and the UK.The summit will also focus on Zimbabwe, calling for an end to state-sponsored violence and urging the UN secretary general to immediately send a team to monitor human rights, our correspondent says.
'Carrot and stick' policy
There will be a tough joint message to Tehran about further sanctions against Iranian banks linked to nuclear proliferation and terrorism, our correspondent says. Mr Bush is also expected to apply pressure on individual European businesses to take a harder line.
Barclays Bank, based in Britain, has already responded to US pressure, and ended all dealings with Iran's Saderat Bank and Bank Melli.
The warning of sanctions is a stick that Washington is keen to wield, but it is ready to give the carrot one more try, our correspondent says.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will go to Iran at the weekend with an upgraded offer of economic and political incentives.
The UN Security Council has approved three rounds of sanctions against Iran.
These include asset restrictions and travel bans on Iranian individuals and companies said to be involved in nuclear work.The sanctions also ban the sale to Iran of so-called dual-use items - items which can have either a military or civilian purpose.
'No illusions'
As EU leaders prepare to bid goodbye to Mr Bush in Slovenia, they want to focus on what unites Europe and America, our correspondent says.But on some key challenges like global warming, no-one is expecting a breakthrough, she says.The US envoy to the EU has warned Europeans not to have any illusions that Washington's position will change "magically" with a new president.Ahead of the summit, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel made reference to the possible tensions, telling reporters: "As in all relationships, the EU and US sometimes have different views."
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