Politics. On Point.

Vice President Biden will be in Poland the week of March 17-19, the White House is reporting.  He will also travel to Lithuania where he will  meet with regional partners to discuss events in Ukraine and other regional issues.  I n Warsaw and Vilnius, the Vice President will meet with the President and Prime Minister of Poland and the Presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.  During his meetings, the Vice President will consult on steps to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and affirm our collective defense commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty and our enduring support for all of our allies and partners in Europe.

Amid stories about faulty toilets , questionable drinking water , athletes bailing out , security issues,  a high jacked plane , and Russian President Vladimir Putin's put down of  the gay community , the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics got underway, anyway.  We've probably not had such distractions surrounding an Olympic event in a long time.  One can hardly imagine a more unpreparedness for a mega event like the 2014 winter games. The talk of the facilities and water at the Olympics pale in comparison Putin's "gay propaganda" law, making it illegal to disseminate information about homosexually to minors. "We are talking about protecting children from the respective information," said Putin. "Leave the children alone." Whether you agree or disagree with Putin for speaking his mind, his remarks set off a fire storm in the gay community, with many groups forming protests. Students of Amnesty International at a local college did just that; ...

  President Obama made the following statement this weekend on the US-Russia framework for eliminating Syria's chemical weapons.   "I welcome the progress made between the United States and Russia through our talks in Geneva, which represents an important, concrete step toward the goal of moving Syria's chemical weapons under international control so that they may ultimately be destroyed.  This framework provides the opportunity for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons in a transparent, expeditious, and verifiable manner, which could end the threat these weapons pose not only to the Syrian people but to the region and the world.  The international community expects the Assad regime to live up to its public commitments. While we have made important progress, much more work remains to be done.  The United States will continue working with Russia, the United Kingdom, France, the United Nations and others to ensure that this process is verif...