Barack Obama

Barack Obama's new biography – by new york editor

2010-03-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

A new biography of President Barack Obama by New Yorker editor David Remnick has been planned for an April 6th release in print, audio and e-book versions. Publisher Knopf Doubleday says the book is based on hundreds of interviews with relatives, friends, mentors, donors, and rivals. Remnick won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for "Lenin’s Tomb," about the Soviet Union's collapse, and also wrote "King of the World" about the boxer Muhammad Ali.

Obama's name has been magic in publishing - from books to Spiderman comics - but some of the luster has damaged off since his election. He has been taking his lumps in Congress over health care, and some Democratic candidates are distancing themselves from his policy. It will be very interesting to see how this bio fares.

Sonny Mehta, chairman of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, said in a news release about the book: “Obama’s election as President was based less on policies prescriptions than on a sense of his character and biography. "The Bridge" reveals not only his nature, but also his trials, motivations, and perspectives in a way that a memoir, even a remarkable one, cannot.”

Moore eager to be Obama's hoops partner

2010-03-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

If President Obama is looking for a partner to play U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and his daughter in basketball, Connecticut's Maya Moore says she's prepared to serve.

Brown, the Massachusetts Republican who had an disturb win in a special election to fill the seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, has challenged Obama to a game of two-on-two. Brown's partner would be his daughter, Ayla, a senior guard at Boston College.

Moore, the reign national player of the year, said Monday she'd be willing to be the President's partner in such a game.

"Whatever the President needs, it is my patriotic duty to help him," Moore said.

Moore and other UConn players competed in a game of "PIG" with Obama at the White House last summer when the team was privileged for winning the NCAA championship.

Health reform: barack obama’s double or quits

2010-03-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

The U.S. president announced this weekend, launching a main education reform, another of its flagship projects.

The U.S. president, who has delayed his trip to Indonesia, began a critical week for the future of its mandate.

In Washington, where the media and political moment is so short that commentators crucify Monday that they have worshiped on Sunday, and conversely, we must be wary of conclusive analysis. But everyone agrees that the week ahead will be important for the future of the Obama presidency. A kind of double or quits, devastating and redemptive.

Aware of the issue, Barack Obama postponed to Sunday, March 21 start of his tour in Guam, Indonesia and Australia, planned for 18. The Speaker ruled that the head of state, often accused of not dip their hands “in the grease” the Congress should participate in the exercise of persuasion of elected Democrats. A deferral means that Michelle, Malia and Sasha will not be the trip to Asia, where Obama lived as a child and where he need to take them. “I am delighted that the president may be there for the passage of the law,” said Pelosi, who is activated for weeks to find a majority and would be a vote winner by the end of the week. “I think we have the votes to pass the reform, confirmed Sunday on CNN on Obama’s political adviser, David Axelrod, speaking, however, ’struggle’.

President barrack obama donates Nobel Prize money to charities

2010-03-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

US President Barack Obama has decided to give his Nobel Prize award money to charities.

Out of the 1.4 million dollars Nobel Peace Prize money, Obama said that 200,000 dollors will go to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund while 250,000 dollars will be donated to Fisher House, which provide housing to families of patients at military medical centers.

In a statement released on Thursday, Mar 11, the president said, “These organisations do strange work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need.”

Central Asia Institute, which promotes community-based education and literacy, particularly for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, will receive 100,000 dollars from Obama.

125,000 dollars will go to College Summit, which is a national non-profit organisation that partners with elementary and middle schools and school districts to strengthen college-going culture and raise college enrollment rates.

"I’m proud to support their work," Obama added.

NIFT student dresses up first lady Michelle Obama

2010-03-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

US First Lady Michelle Obama wore a creation by designer Prabal Gurung, an alumnus of Delhi's National Institute of Fashion Technology, while donate her inaugural gown to the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Gurung, who was born in Singapore, grow up in Nepal and studied fashion in New Delhi, had previous spoken of his desire to dress President Obama's wife, describing her as his ideal.

"Michelle Obama has brought an huge sense of glamour back to the White House with her keen fashion sense and by the way she wears clothing with confidence. I am proud to describe her our First Lady. To me, she is the perfect PG woman," the designer had earlier said.

The 46-year-old first lady is known to prefer young designers over recognized high-couture names, choosing Jason Wu, a little-known designer who grew up in Taiwan, to design her inaugural ball gown. The flowing, white, one-shouldered gown studded with applique embroidery, a huge ring, along with peep-toe white Jimmy Choo high heels, thin diamond bracelets and dangling earrings joined the Museum of American History's collection of First Ladies' dresses on Wednesday.

"I'm also a little embarrassed by all the excitement being made over my dress. Like many of you, I'm not used to people wanting to put things I've worn on display," Obama said to laughter.

President obama bemoans hardship in Women's Day speech

2010-03-08T23:07:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama warned on Monday that women in America still faced unfairness and hardship, as he vowed to fight for gender parity at a White House reception on International Women's Day.

Obama was joined by his wife First Lady Michelle Obama, the first female secretary of state Madeleine Albright, and his rival-turned-ally and recent top US diplomat Hillary Clinton at an event in the East Room of the White House.

"Even as we reflect on the hope of our history, we must also face squarely the reality of the present -- a realism marked by unfairness, marked by hardship for too many women in America," Obama said.

The president also praise Clinton and US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice for making the alleviation of suffering of women a priority in US foreign policy, including lifting restrictions on access to family development.

Michelle Obama introduced her husband with joke: "I get to speak first while he stands and watches. I love this," she said to laughter.

"Look at me adoringly," she told her husband. "I can do that," the president quipped. "With sincerity," she said, sparking loud laughs.

Obama trip could hit a health problem

2010-03-05T01:52:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama's trip to Australia this month might be in jeopardy as the US President pushes to clinch historic healthcare reform in America.

Mr Obama and his family are planned to arrive in Canberra on March 22 after visiting Guam and Indonesia.

But some fellow Democrats have expressed concern that the President's absence will come during the final act of his momentous revamp of the healthcare system, which is predictable to extend health insurance coverage to an extra 30 million Americans.

The Australian government yesterday confirmed Mr Obama could address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on Tuesday, March 23.

It also announced that Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would address a combined sitting next Wednesday at 2pm.

Barack obama’s challenge

2010-03-03T22:47:00.000-08:00

The president is throwing down the gauntlet to Republicans:

"I believe the United States Congress owes the American people a last vote on health care reform. We have debated this subject thoroughly, not just for a year, but for decades. Reform has already passed the House with a majority. It have previously passed the Senate with a supermajority of 60 votes. And now it deserves the similar kind of up-or-down vote that was cast on welfare reform, the Children's Health Insurance Program, COBRA health coverage for the unemployed, and both Bush tax cuts - all of which had to pass Congress with nothing more than a simple majority."
Republicans will decline this almost instantly. One conservative website has already put together a montage of clips showing Obama saying he would not govern like this.

CNN are quoting a White House insider saying this is a "last helicopter out of Saigon" plan. Fleeing a lost war is not the most hopeful metaphor for an adviser to adopt. And it still might go down in flames.

Obama summit increases stakes in healthcare wrangle

2010-02-26T02:53:00.000-08:00

President Obama had hoped Congress would sign off on health reform last summer, but the subject goes to the heart of the ideological differences between the two parties, and even between liberal and moderate Democrats.

Reading all the various polls available, you get the clear picture that Americans are usually happy with the healthcare they have but most would be unhappy if no reform was passed this year.

They don't much like the bill Congressional Democrats are pushing - it’s too luxurious and too complicated - but they like its component parts and they trust the president and his party more than Republicans to solve the problem.

Quite apart from the fact that he thinks it is the right thing to do, healthcare reform would assist Barack Obama shore up his presidency too.

Besides his efforts to re-vitalize the economy, reforming healthcare is the central plank of his domestic schedule and he badly needs something to show for the sizeable majorities he has had in the House and Senate for the past year.

First lady Michelle obama – Let’s move on childhood obesity

2010-02-25T02:40:00.000-08:00

Michelle Obama has now challenged Americans to deal with the growing trouble of obesity in children. Childhood obesity has tripled in the last thirty years. Nearly one-third of US children are now overweight or obese; nearly one in three will finally suffer from diabetes. In the African - American and Latino communities, the proportion is approximately one in two.

This is, the First Lady said, possibly “an even greater threat to America’s health than smoking” with staggering costs. A current study put the health care cost of obesity related diseases at $147 billion a year. Obesity is now one of the most general disqualifiers from military service.

This isn’t a challenge that can be solved in a year or in an administration, as the First Lady noted, but this isn’t like a disease where we’re still waiting for a cure to be exposed – we know the cure for this. This isn’t like putting a man on the moon or inventing the Internet. It doesn’t take a few stroke of genius or feat of technology. “We have everything we need, right now, to help our kid’s lead healthy lives” So Let’s Move.

Wind energy production with obama

2010-02-23T23:12:00.000-08:00

The Obama Administration is definitely in support of pumping government dollars back into the economy, particularly if it means spending the green on companies that promote green energy. President Obama embarked to Iowa on Earth Day to go with the workers of Trinity Structural Towers. The President seems to be pleased with the company's efforts in developed a product that will create wind energy while still saving the jobs of many previous Maytag workers.

President Obama is an enthusiastic supporter of clean sources of power such as wind energy. He needs to maintain the development of green energy if the government is going to meet the Department of Energy's 20% wind energy goal by 2030.

Obama sees an opportunity for the United States to develop from the top importer of foreign oil into the top clean energy exporter. He believes that wind can produce up to 20 percent of the nation's energy by 2030, creating up to 250,000 jobs. This is an ambitious raise from the 2 percent currently produced by wind generated power, concurrently attacking the problems of energy dependence, global warming and job creation. The U.S. currently has no offshore wind power facilities though these new rules may give impetus to some pending projects, such as New York's plan to produce power off the coast of the Great Lakes and installations off the coast along the Atlantic seaboard.

Indonesia to maximize benefit from barrack Obama's visit

2010-02-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

Indonesian government would use the upcoming visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to maximize the benefits for the archipelagic country by optimize the agreements to be signed by heads of the two countries during the visit, Indonesian Economy Coordinating Minister Hatta Radjasa said here on Tuesday.

"The foreign desire to invest in Indonesia was increasing rapidly. U.S. was one of countries pledged to raise its investments here. There would be six agreements to be signed in the visit. We would use it largely for the prosperity of the country," Hatta said on the sidelines of a coordination meeting in the financial ministry's premises here.

Indonesia is recognized as one of the surviving countries in the crisis that rammed worldwide economy since late 2008. Indonesia has booked positive growth amid the crisis along with China and India.

Obama is planned to undertake his Indonesian visit from March 20 to 22. Obama spent his early days in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta from 1967 to 1971.

Obama meets King of Spain, discusses overall issues

2010-02-17T23:09:00.000-08:00

King Juan Carlos I of Spain on Wednesday met US President Barack Obama here and the two leaders discuss bilateral and global issues.

At the lunch at his private dining room at the White House, president obama was joined by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the National Security Advisor General (retired) James Jones while the King's delegation included Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Alberto Aza, Head of Royal Household.

During the lunch, the leaders recognized the strong bonds between the American and Spanish people, the White House said.

"The President expressed appreciation for the King's long history of friendship with the United States and highlighted his interest in strengthening our partnership with Spain as we seek to confront common challenges, including the climate change, global economy, terrorism and Afghanistan," the White House said.

President Obama mother-in-law likes WH life

2010-02-16T05:01:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama's mother-in-law lived her whole life in Chicago, so it was only natural that her move to the White House came with some resistance. Try it for three months, her son-in-law says the family suggested.

A year later, it seems Marian Robinson is here to stay.

She spends a lot of time looking after granddaughters Sasha, 8, and Malia, 11, but has been carving out a new life for herself, too. In the words of the president, she's become "quite the lady about town."

"She wasn't entirely kicking and screaming, but it was clear that her preference would be to remain in her old life, and that this new White House, all this stuff, she could just hear about," the first lady said.

"So I'm happy that she's really settled in and feels like this is home for her, as well," Mrs. Obama said.

She attends many White House functions, including musical events in the East Room - such as a celebration last week of music of the civil rights era - the yearly Easter Egg Roll and November's black-tie, state dinner for India's prime minister.

Sending signal over the Dalai Lama

2010-02-15T04:34:00.001-08:00

Barack Obama will observe the Dalai Lama in the White House this week. They met once when Mr Obama was just a senator, but what degree of warmth and eagerness will he show as president? After all, he put off meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader before his journey to Beijing due to an unfortunate "clash of diaries".

Now that the meeting is back in the diary, China has once again protested. The president needs a friendly with China, not least over sanctions against Iran, but tensions have been increasing between the two big powers - over trade and the US sale of arms to Taiwan.

All US presidents since 1990 have met the Dalai Lama and it would be noteworthy if Obama kept him at arm's extent. But he doesn't want to turn the well-known affront to Beijing's rulers into something more serious.

Indian-American amongst Obama’s nominees confirmed by Senate

2010-02-12T02:09:00.000-08:00

Indian-American Suresh Kumar was among 27 nominees of the Obama Administration who were established on Friday by the United States Senate.

But at the same time before leaving for Presidential Day recess, the Senate has not vacant the names of at least a dozen Obama nominees. “While this is a good first step, there are still dozens of nominees on hold who merit a similar vote, and I will be looking for action from the Senate when it returns from recess,” President Barack Obama said soon thereafter. Mr. Obama warned that if the Senate does not approve/ confirm his nominees who are critical to run his administration, he reserve the right to use his recess appointment authority in the future.

Mr. Kumar, who served as a particular adviser to the Clinton foundation and was a news anchor in India from 1970 to 1985, was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service.

President Barack obama

2010-02-10T01:24:00.000-08:00

Barack H. Obama is the 44th leader of the United States.

His story is the American story - values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a powerful family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Barrack obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raise with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

After working his way through college with the assist of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago; where he worked with a group of churches to assist rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants. He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African - American president of the Harvard Law Review.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and confirmed in on January 20, 2009. He and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Sasha, 7 and Malia, 10.

Obama's Kenyan aunt arrives in a wheelchair to plead with judge not to throw her out of U.S.

2010-02-05T03:13:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama’s Kenyan ‘auntie’ appeals last night to an immigration judge not to throw her out of America.

Zeituni Onyango, 57, who turned up to the hearing in a wheelchair, was predictable to claim that her relationship to the president would make her a target in her homeland’s unstable political climate.

But the hearing at the U.S. Immigration Court in Boston, Massachusetts ended without an urgent decision in her second bid for asylum in the U.S.

The half-sister of Mr Obama’s late father moved to America a decade ago but her first asylum appeal was discarded.

The president affectionately refers to Ms Onyango as ‘Auntie Zeituni’ in his memoir Dreams from My Father and described meeting her during a 1988 trip to Kenya.

But he has adamantly denied that he knew his aunt was living in the U.S. and said she would not get any particular treatment.

China warns against Obama-Dalai Lama conference

2010-02-02T23:22:00.000-08:00

The White House confirmed on Tuesday that Obama will meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader hated by Beijing as a "separatist" for seeking self-rule for his homeland.

China's response to the statement underscored the tensions in ties between the world's biggest and third biggest economies, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying President Hu Jintao himself had urged Obama not to meet the exiled Tibetan leader.

Ma Zhaoxu, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said his government "resolutely opposes the leader of the United States having contact with the Dalai under any excuse or in any form,"
"We urge the U.S. to fully grasp the high sensitivity of the Tibetan issues, to carefully and appropriately deal with related matters, and avoid bringing further damage to China-U.S. relations," said Ma.

The White House shrugged off Beijing's earlier warnings about the meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama, which may occur as early as this month.

"The president told China's leaders during his journey last year that he would meet with the Dalai Lama and he intends to do so," White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters traveling with Obama to New Hampshire.

Michelle Obama: Child obesity disaster

2010-01-28T23:29:00.000-08:00

The economy can make it harder for family to make healthy choices but childhood obesity threatens America's future, first lady Michelle Obama said Thursday.

During an appearance in Alexandria, Va., with Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Dr. Judith Palfrey, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in Alexandria, Va., the first lady said childhood obesity is "nothing short of a public health crisis threatening the future of this nation."

The first lady and the officials released a paper by the surgeon common on the public health challenge of obesity and toured a YMCA playroom that feature physical activities, including interactive video games good for groups, bikes set up so kids can race others on a screen and a dancing game.

Barack obama told an audience that included representatives from scouting, the YMCA, YWCA, Children's Defense Fund, Girls Inc. and the National PTA that the activity room represented the "next generation" and must be encouraged in other places.

Obama : Won’t accept second place as india, china closes gap

2010-01-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

Citing India and China as countries that are going ahead with economic revamp, US president Barack Obama today said the US can’t accept a "second place", and should get serious about fixing its troubles since the worst of the financial crisis is over.

"Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China's not waiting to revamp its financial system. Germany's not waiting. India's not waiting," Barack obama said in his first State of the Union address to the Congress.

"Well, I do not agree to a second place for the United States of America. As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it's time to get serious about fixing the troubles that are hampering our growth," he said.

Month by month: Michelle's first year in the White House

2010-01-27T01:14:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama has had a miserable first anniversary in power, losing a earlier safe Democratic seat to a little-known Republican and finding his personal poll rating plummeting. But his wife, Michelle, is still ride high, according to a poll by the Pew Research Centre. It found that more than 70% of Americans expressed a favorable opinion towards the first lady. That is above the 64% polled by Laura Bush and 60% of Hillary Clinton at a same stage. The Politics Daily commentator Lynn Sweet believes Mrs Obama, who was at times seen as angry during the campaign, transformed her popularity by 'framing herself as a wife, mother, daughter and sister, not trying to redefine the role of first lady, limiting interviews and stay militantly noncontroversial'.

Not going to take over Haiti, says US president

2010-01-20T23:19:00.000-08:00

US President Barack Obama on Thursday said that the US cannot ignore the problem in Haiti, but ruled out taking over the quake-devastated Caribbean nation.

"No," Obama told the ABC News in an interview when asked if the US is heading towards a takeover Haiti.

"We are being very careful about working with the Haitian government. We are being very careful about working with the United Nations, which already had peacekeeping forces on the ground, to deal with the immediate emergency, search and rescue, and relief," the US president said.

"The truth is, is that just the common instruments of government in that country are gone. We've got to help Haiti stand back up," he said.

Barack obama's first year: Summing up

2010-01-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

The month before Barack Obama took office, the US economy lost more than half a million jobs, 300,000 homes was being foreclosed and the survival of the US banking system was in doubt.

A year later it is fair to say the large picture is a lot rosier. Financial markets have rallied powerfully during Mr Obama's time in office and the biggest banks, at least, have returned to some semblance of stability.

But for numerous millions of Americans, the Obama presidency has, so far, been a time of declining fortune. The rate of job losses has slowed from the terrifying days of winter 2008/9, but it has not upturned. The unemployment rates sit at 10%.

In political terms, the economy is now a actual problem for President Obama. He faces the prospect of having to argue that however awful things are for many voters, without him, they would be even worse. That is always a difficult case to make.

Barack obama 'strengthened America' in first year: White House

2010-01-13T02:39:00.000-08:00

The White House Tuesday argue with President Barack Obama's "steady diplomacy" had made America stronger and renewed its moral authority despite "unprecedented challenges" in his first year in office.

"A year later, America is stronger because of the president's leadership," said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security consultant for strategic communications, in a White House blog post.

"By prohibiting torture and working to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, we are denying Al-Qaeda a recruiting tool," said Rhodes, who has played an active role in many of Obama's main foreign policy speeches.

When he came to office in January 2009, Obama offered a hand of dialogue to Iran but has been rebuff and now the administration is working with international associates on a toughened sanctions regime over a nuclear showdown.

"After a year of American engagement, the international community is more united than ever before in calling on Iran to live up to its obligation, while Iran is more isolated," he said.

Vegetable Gardening’s at the White House

2010-01-11T23:03:00.000-08:00

THOMAS JEFFERSON: Jefferson (1801-1809) hired the first White House gardener, who also was in charge for cultivating a "kitchen" garden. But it wasn't until 1825, when John Quincy Adams became president, which the vegetable garden and nearby grounds began to flourish.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: By the 1840s, a fresh kitchen garden had been planted southwest of the White House. Receipts for the seeds show that Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, enjoyed a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT: First lady Eleanor Roosevelt used the White House grounds during World War II to show support for a civilian protection program for producing homegrown fruits and vegetables.

BARACK OBAMA: First lady Michelle Obama, with assist from local schoolchildren, planted a new "kitchen" garden last year on the lawn southwest of the White House. The garden is provided that fresh, seasonal produce for the first family and White House guests to enjoy. Mrs. Obama also is using the garden to teach children about the significance of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables as part of a healthier lifestyle.

Barack obamas watch Avatar with family and friends

2010-01-07T23:10:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, watched the digital 3-D version of the film on the morning of Dec 31 at a theatre close to their Hawaii vacation home, reports the Politico.

The Obamas, accompanied by family members and close friends, watched the movie in entire privacy. One complex of the 10 movie theatres was reserved for them and the media was reserved off.

It is supposed the early morning screening of the film was specially held for the president's family and his friends.

The Obamas reached the mall to see the film shortly before 9.30am Hawaii time, while the first usual show of the movie was slated for 10.45am.

Obama, who donned sunglasses, a dark blue short-sleeve shirt and brown slacks with his BlackBerry clipped onto his belt, waves at the crowd.

While Obama's friends Marty Nesbitt and Eric Whittaker were seen leaving, the first lady could not be spotted.

PETA used Michelle Obama image without permission: White House

2010-01-06T22:58:00.000-08:00

Animal rights group PETA used the image of First Lady Michelle Obama in a campaign against fur clothing without her consent, the White House said Wednesday.

"We did not permission to it," said Semonti Stephens, spokeswoman for the wife of US President Barack Obama.

PETA, an animal welfare group known for high-profile stunts to endorse its cause, had featured Michelle Obama in a photo-montage advertisement on its website.

The montage also included other US personality including model Tyra Banks, television icon Oprah Winfrey and singer Carrie Underwood.

In the ad PETA declared the celebrity "Fur-Free and Fabulous!"

The White House has contacted the group about the issue, an official told AFP, without providing more details.

Statements by the President barrack obama and first lady Michelle on kwanzaa

2009-12-31T02:44:00.000-08:00

Michelle and I send warm wishes to all those celebrate Kwanzaa this holiday season. This is a happy time of year when African Americans and all Americans come together to celebrate our blessings and the richness of our cultural traditions. This is also a time of reflection and renewal as we come to the finish of one year and the beginning of another. The Kwanzaa message tells us that we must recall the lessons of the past even as we seize the promise of tomorrow.

The seven principles of Kwanzaa - Unity, Self Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Purpose, Cooperative Economics, Creativity, and Faith - express the values that have enthused us as individuals and families; communities and country. These same principles have continued us as a nation during our darkest hours and provided hope for better days to come. Michelle and I know the challenges facing many African American families and families in all communities at this time, but we also know the courage of perseverance and hope that is ever-present in the community. It is in this spirit that our family extends our prayers and best wishes during this occasion and for the New Year to come.

Americans most admire Obama, Clinton, Palin in polling

2009-12-29T23:04:00.000-08:00

President Obama is the man Americans admired most in 2009, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, while Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin are almost tied as the most-admired woman.

The close finish by Clinton, named by 16% in the open-ended survey, and Palin, named by 15%, reflects the nation's partisan split. Clinton was cited by almost 3 in 10 Democrats but only 6% of Republicans, Palin by a third of Republicans but less than 1% of Democrats.

First lady Michelle Obama ranks as the fourth most-admired woman, at the back Oprah Winfrey.The poll of 1,025 adults, taken Dec. 11-13, has a edge of error of +/–4 percentage points.

Presisent obama celebrates kwanzaa holiday

2009-12-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

President and Michelle Obama sent their "warm wishes to all those celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season," calling it a occasion when "all Americans come together to celebrate our blessings and the richness of our cultural traditions.”

The principles of Kwanzaa, Barack Obama said,

... Express the values that have enthused us as individuals and families; communities and country. These same principles have sustained us as a nation during our darkest hours and provided hope for good days to come. Michelle and I know the challenges facing many African American families and families in all communities at this time, but we also know the spirit of insistence and hope that is ever present in the community.

But among all the prayers and best wishes - similar to those offered for Christmas, Hanukkah and Eid -- there's no sign of whether they'll be observing Kwanzaa customs at the Hawaii "White House" this week.

Obama 'Close' To Xmas Present choice For Wife

2009-12-23T23:12:00.001-08:00

With just days to go before the great holiday, White House officials say President Barack Obama is "very close" to a decision on what to get First Lady Michelle for Christmas this year. The president is expected to proclaim his decision within "several hours" today.

"The president has been meeting daily with his top advisors and they have provided him with the good options available at this time," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. "In around one hour, he will present his choice to a hand-picked task force, who will then approve or reject the choice."

Obama, Michelle obama receive swine flu shots

2009-12-21T23:13:00.000-08:00

The US President, Mr Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle have received their swine flu shot.
Their daughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, got their shot in October when the vaccine first became available.

In an interview to the American Urban Radio Network, Mr Obama said the girls have been now fine and have yet to get sick this flu season.

“That’s the most significant population because this flu, unlike seasonal flu, excessively affects children and young people - healthy children and young people as well as people with underlying conditions like asthma or neurological diseases,” Mr obama said.

The President also encouraged everyone to get vaccinated against the H1N1 strain of flu now that the vaccine is available to the common public. The vaccine has been restricted to high-risk groups such as children.

President Obama must Step up Fight on Health Care, Labor Chief Stern Says

2009-12-17T22:41:00.000-08:00

Andy Stern, the labor union chief who was one of the most frequent White House visitors this year, criticize President Obama for not fighting for more sweeping changes in health-care legislation.

“We need his personal involvement,” Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, one of the nation’s main labor unions, said yesterday in a conference call with reporters. “We are encouraging him to really step in here now” and “use all the powers of persuasion that he has.”

Stern, whose union spent $85 million last year to help elect President Obama to the White House and Democrats to Congress, adds to growing discontent among Democratic allies over compromises made in the bill to overhaul the nation’s health insurance system. The Senate has loosened necessities in legislation designed to curb medical expenses and provide health care for 31 million uninsured Americans.

Few Guantanamo Inmates to Move to Stateside Prison

2009-12-15T04:25:00.000-08:00

White House officials say U.S. President Obama has ordered the federal government to purchase a state prison in Illinois to house about 100 suspected terrorists now being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The prison is situated in Thomson, a rural town about 240 kilometers west of Chicago. The 1,600 cell correction center there was built in 2001 to house maximum security inmates, but is nearly-empty. An official announcement on the contract is planned for Tuesday.

The president signed as an order days after taking office in January to close Guantanamo within a year.

But the administration's plan has been met with fierce resistance by a few congressional lawmakers who oppose bringing alleged terrorists into the United States.

Mr. Obama admitted newly that his administration will not be able to close Guantanamo by its self-imposed deadline.

Obama child statue unveils in Indonesia

2009-12-09T23:30:00.000-08:00

As the president of the United States prepared to receive his Nobel Peace Prize Thursday, Indonesia remembered "Little Barry" Obama with the presentation of a bronze statue of him as a 10-year-old boy.

The statue of a young Barack Obama, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, were erected in the Jakarta neighborhood where he used to play as a child.

The 100 million rupiah (10,600 dollar) statue, which was based on a picture of Obama taken during his childhood, depicted the future world leader wearing a large necklace with a butterfly perched on his outstretched hand.

Ron Mullers, chairman of the group Friends of Obama, which paid for the statue, said there was nothing important about the timing of the unveiling.

President Obama announces proposals to put Americans back to work

2009-12-09T02:24:00.000-08:00

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a sequence of measures to put American back to work and help companies hire people, which he said would lay the foundation for robust economic growth in the country.

These measures are part of the overall policy designed to not just make jobs in the short run but also shift America away from consumption-driven growth to a focus on enhancing the competitiveness of America's businesses, encouraging investment, and promoting exports, Obama said.

Obama also called for the removal of fees and an increase in guarantees for loans through the Small Business Administration, a measure that extends provisions in the Recovery Act through the end of 2010. In addition, he called for continued Treasury efforts to use the TARP to maintain small business lending.

EPA Move As Copenhagen Begins

2009-12-08T00:39:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day in environmental news.

First, former Vice President Al Gore met with President Obama about climate change this afternoon in a personal meeting in the Oval Office. Gore is one of the most famous Americans and thought leaders in favor of U.S. action on climate change.

Second, today the greatly anticipated U.N. Climate Conference in Copenhagen got underway. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the White House was announced that President Obama would join the U.S. delegation to Copenhagen (last weekend, officials said the President would be in Copenhagen on December 18, instead of December 9). President Obama is expected to commit the United States to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

And third, today the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its “endangerment finding” on greenhouse gas emissions, officially declaring that carbon and other greenhouse gases are harmful to the public’s health and welfare.

Barack Obama vows to tackle jobs challenge head-on

2009-12-03T23:12:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama on Thursday called on corporate America to help tackle the nation's highest unemployment in 26 years and dismissed skeptics who have doubt his efforts to boost employment.

"We cannot hang back and hope for the best when we've see the kinds of job wounded that we've seen over the last year," Obama told business and labor leaders invited to the White House to suggest how to lift employment creation.

"Despite the progress we've made, many businesses are still playful about hiring," he said, acknowledging that although the economy is growing again, the labor market is lagging behind.
Obama is hosting a jobs forum after US unemployment hit a 26-year high of 10.2% in October, sap his popularity and potentially shaping his political future.

Critics dismiss the effort as mainly a public relations exercise. Obama already has said he wants measures that will not add to the country's record budget deficit, efficiently ruling out significantly more public spending on top of a USD 787 billion stimulus package that he signed in February.

President Obama calls PM Manmohan singh of afghan surge

2009-12-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

US President Barack Obama gave PM Manmohan Singh a sample of his Afghan strategy before he announces it on Wednesday morning. While the phone call was one of several that Obama made - he spoke to Hamid Karzai, Nicholas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, Dmitry Medvedev, Kevin Rudd and Hu Jintao - officials said India's satisfaction was derived from the high level of Obama's commitment to stay the course in Afghanistan despite growing clamor in the US for an early pullout.

The US president is set to announce an raise of around 35,000 troops in Afghanistan, putting an end to a tortuous exercise of a review of his Afghan strategy that has taken the better part of the past four months.

The Obama-Singh conversation had one more important component for India: India's own presence and activity in Afghanistan. The Indian takeaway here is that the Pakistan "line" which, in a few ways was reflected in the report prepared by the top US commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal, that Indian activities in Afghanistan could be counter-productive, was comprehensively discarded. Obama reportedly told the PM that Indian activities are not only appreciated but they should continue. India has committed almost $1.2 billion in civilian and infrastructure project in Afghanistan, in the teeth of repeated Pakistani complaints.

Obama telephones thanks to 10 service members

2009-11-26T23:05:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving at the White House, telephoning U.S. servicemen and women stationed around the world and spending time in the company of his family and friends.

Obama placed calls from the Oval Office to 10 U.S. servicemen and women - two each in the Army, Air Force, Navy, the Marines and the Coast Guard - stationed in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in the Persian Gulf.

The commander in chief, who spent the past several weeks conduct an intensive review of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, called to wish them Happy Thanksgiving and to let them know that he and first lady Michelle Obama are "truly thankful for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the nation," according to a statement Thursday from the White House.

Obama attends Copenhagen climate talks

2009-11-25T23:45:00.001-08:00

The White House announced that President Obama will travel to Copenhagen on Dec. 9 to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in order to work with the international community to drive progress towards a comprehensive and operational Copenhagen accord. The White House also announced that President Obama is ready to put on the table a U.S. emissions reduction target in the range of 17% below 2005 levels by 2020.

President Obama’s commitment to American leadership on fresh energy and combating climate change, the White House also announced that a host of Cabinet secretaries and other top officials from across the Administration will travel to Copenhagen for the conference. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson are all planned to attend, along with Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner.

Barack Obama entertains India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

2009-11-24T23:45:00.000-08:00

Looking glamorous in a stylish strapless gown by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan, Michelle Obama welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Mrs. Gursharan Kaur to the White House Tuesday night and ushered in the Obama administration's first official state dinner.

With Mr Obama and India's Manmohan Singh touting advances in support on trade, investment and technology reached during meetings earlier in the day, the Indian businessman Ratan Tata of Tata Motors led numerous captains on Indian industry at the occasion.

During an effusive welcome at the White House for Mr Singh, the president said the state visit was verification of India's "rightful place as a global leader".

"Our generation has an opportunity given to few remakes the new global equilibrium after the irreversible changes" of the crisis, Mr Singh said.

"The India-US partnership can contribute to an arranged transition to the new order and be a main factor for global peace and stability."

Saying Asia was the focal point for major change, Mr Singh said: "India and the United States can work together with other countries in the region to make an open and inclusive regional architecture."

India welcomes barrack Obama's engagement efforts with Iran

2009-11-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has welcomed US President Barack Obama's efforts to engage with Iran without preconditions, hopeful this will end the stand-off between Tehran and western countries over the issue of nuclear enrichment.

Singh stated that Iran as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty had the right to make use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes but could not develop a weapon.

"As far as Iran's nuclear weapon ambitions are concerned I have stated unambiguously on many occasions that we do not support the nuclear weapon ambitions of Iran," he said during an interaction at the Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent think tank, on the next day of his four-day visit here.

He also indicated that India would abide by any UNSC resolution on the issue when asked if New Delhi could support sanctions against Iran.

Point out that Obama had "open a new pathway of engagement without preconditions" with Iran, he expressed hope that it will "yield results." Unlike his predecessor George W Bush's violent stand,

President Obama has decided to engage diplomatically with Tehran but the exchange has not yielded actual results.

Recently, Western powers revealed the existence of a secret underground plant but Tehran maintains that its nuclear enrichment program is for quiet purposes.

PM's state visit to showcase powerful Indo-US ties

2009-11-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to US as Barack Obama's first state guest is expected to showcase the significance the US President attaches to Indo-US relationship, with universal issues including climate and Afghanistan to feature prominently along with bilateral ties.

Obama will welcome Singh at the White House on Tuesday morning as the first State Guest of his presidency, in what senior administration officials have said is no co-incidence but a aware decision to send a strong signal on how critical the relationship is to the United States.
Obama has recognized India as a natural ally of the US and wants to take the Indo-US relationship to a new level.

The US now sees India as an "emerging power" and needs to work with it on the global front. They are expected to discuss a range of regional and global issues including Af-Pak, climate, and are also possible to discuss Obama's recent trip to Asia, particularly China, besides identifying ways to deepen strategic relationship. Given where the US position with regard to Af-Pak strategic review, it is expected that Obama and Singh would discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan and talk about constancy and security in the region.

US President Barack Obama talks between China, Dalai Lama

2009-11-18T00:41:00.000-08:00

US President Barack Obama ended his state visit to China with a call for new talks between Beijing and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The US and China was also agreed to disagree on Iran, the world economy and the nature of political freedom.

However, the common theme of the joint statement and the Obama visit was US recognition of the rising influence and importance of China.

"The Sino-US relationship has never been more important in our collective future," Obama said after his summit with Hu. He urge a ‘strong and prosperous’ China plays a bigger global role. Hu began his declaration by referring to complex global challenges and the need for interdependence of nations.

Obama has made his first visit to China under the shadow of a failing US economy dependent on Beijing as its main foreign creditor.

Outrage in US over obama’a bow to japan emperor

2009-11-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

There is a great outrage in the US over President Barack Obama's bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito. The critics in Washington said that Obama has disgraced the nation by taking a deep bow at the waist while meeting with Japan's Emperor Akihito. They slammed Obama in strong words and said that US leader should stand tall when representing America overseas.

Barack Obama, who is presently touring Asia, has already completed his Japan tour and is now in China. He met Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing and pledges a "positive, cooperative and comprehensive" relationship with China.

Obama acknowledged China's cooperation in fighting the worst-ever universal recession. He also talked about a revised economic approach to raise US exports and create jobs in China. Obama and Jintao both clarified that the US and China are never rivals.

Obama Says U.S. - China Trade spur Prosperity for Both

2009-11-16T01:24:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama said a deeper relationship between the U.S. and China is critical to the economic prosperity of both countries and necessary to confronting global issues such as climate change.

The U.S. president, addressing students at a forum in Shanghai, also brought up the issue of human rights, saying political and religious freedoms must be “universal” and available to all people and group “whether they are in the United States, China or any other nation.”

In China for his first-ever visit, Obama arrived in Shanghai last night from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore where few leaders expressed concern about his commitment to free trade. He meet earlier today with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and Communist Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng.

The president is planned to have dinner tonight in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao. In response to a question at the forum with the students, Obama said he is in China to look for “a meeting of the minds” with Hu.

First lady Michelle Obama 'in Awe' of Military families

2009-11-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

First Lady Michelle Obama saw close-up the pain and suffering of military families when she visited Fort Hood with President Obama on Tuesday, paying tribute to the 13 people kill in a shooting spree, allegedly by an Army psychiatrist. Mrs. Obama, who has embrace helping military families as one of her causes, on Wednesday - Veterans Day - said she was in awe of what the families of soldiers endure.

Mrs. Obama and her husband joined Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, at Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans Day ceremonies, where the president laid a garland at the Tomb of the unknowns. Then the first couple made a surprise visit to a part of the cemetery, Section 60, where military soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan is buried. They were walked between tombstones for about 10 minutes; the president greets mourners at grave sites. (Mrs. Obama wore a teal outfit, a difference to the dark colors the president, the Bidens and others at the ceremony wore.)

Obama place to launch debut Asia mission

2009-11-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama leaves on his debut presidential trip of Asia Thursday seeking to revive America's prestige as a regional power, on a trip much heavier on symbolism than diplomatic substance.

Obama will take a precious week out of his bid to enact an ambitious domestic schedule to show the region, and a rising China, that Washington is no longer distracted by crises elsewhere.

He will travel first to Japan for discussion Friday with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, then attend the weekend's APEC summit in Singapore and become the first US president to sit down with all 10 leaders of ASEAN, including Myanmar.

Obama will next visit Shanghai, and fly on to Beijing for a state dinner and meeting with President Hu Jintao, then wrap up his tour in South Korea.

US president travels to asia

2009-11-11T01:19:00.000-08:00

President Obama leaves Thursday on his first official trip to Asia. USA TODAY looks at Obama's policy plan for the week, as he visits Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea.

The main purpose of his journey is to attend this weekend's summit of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group. The Apec meeting is in Singapore, and would be the US leader's only stop in the Asian region.

Mr Obama's promises about restoring US interest in Asia in general and Asian in particular, have proved so far to be more talk than substance. His Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointedly made her first foreign visit to Asia soon after Mr Obama took office in January. She returned in July for the annual Asian Regional Forum in Thailand.

More seriously, Mr Obama and advisers will find it tricky to keep a straight face in Singapore while they support free trade. The US president took office owing favors to trade unions and political groups who oppose free trade. His administration has already delivered some free-trade restrictions. Since January, the White House has trumpet "Buy American" campaigns including new laws restricting foreign textile and clothing makers. The US has begun a so-called "tyre war" with China, and of course has delivered hundreds of billions in bailout subsidies for the US auto industry and its unionized workers.

U.S. healthcare face the tough path in Senate

2009-11-09T02:46:00.000-08:00

After a landmark win in the U.S. House of Representatives, President Barack Obama's push for healthcare reform faces a complex path in the Senate amid divisions in his own Democratic Party on how to proceed.

On a 220-215 vote, including the support of one Republican and opposition from 39 Democrats, the House backed a bill late on Saturday that would enlarge coverage to nearly all Americans and bar insurance practices such as refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions.

The battle now shift to the Senate, where work on Obama's top domestic priority has been stalled for weeks as Democratic leader Harry Reid searches for an approach that can win the 60 votes he wants to overcome Republican procedural hurdles.

Democrats have no margin for error - they control accurately 60 seats in the 100-member chamber. Some reasonable Democrats have rebelled at Reid's plan to include a new government-run insurance program, known as the "public option," in the bill.

A year after the win: Obama, the realist

2009-11-04T23:46:00.001-08:00

Forty-seven-year-old African-American Barack Hussain Obama was chosen President of the United States of America on November 4, 2008.

A year after his election, US President Barack Obama still wants time to turn the myriad campaign promises into policy. Democrats defeated at the hands of Republicans in the race for Governorship in Virginia and New Jersey might just be a backlash of Obama's unfulfilled promises.

The question that was being asked on CNN-IBN's Face The Nation was: Has Barack Obama failed to be the change? On the panel of experts to discuss the issues were: Chairman of the US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) Sanjay Puri; senior journalist Saeed Naqvi; and the former diplomat, K C Singh.

At the beginning of the debate, 70 percent agreed that Barack Obama has failed to be the change while 30 per cent disagreed.

Health care delays would frustrate Obama

2009-11-04T02:54:00.000-08:00

Delay is rarely good for politicians trying to go by legislation. The possibility that Congress might not whole action on a major health care bill this year is another frustration for President Barack Obama and his allies.

Even if it doesn't sink the health care effort, a delay could raise new uncertainties and push other domestic priorities further back. It also would give opponents a chance to pick off nervous Democratic lawmakers eyeing their November 2010 re-election campaigns.

Even some House Democrats with safe seats don't like the plan of voting on a contentious bill until it's clear that the Senate will follow suit.

Obama has swallow one disappointing postponement already this year, when the House and Senate failed to move separate bills before the August recess. Opponents used that calm to rip into the proposed health care changes in raucous public forums.

Democrats are improbable to be caught off guard again if the legislative battle goes past the Christmas-New Year's break. But any delay gives opponents extra time to organize and campaign.

President Obama Signs Inclusive Hate Crimes Legislation

2009-10-29T00:19:00.000-07:00

Today President Obama sign into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, legislation that will extend new federal protections to people who are victims of violent crime because of their sex or sexual orientation. It is an update to the federal hate crimes act that Congress first passed in 1968. For the first time, the law that before it protected people from attacks motivated by race, religion or ethnicity will also protects gay, lesbian, transgender and disabled people.

The President will host a reception commemorating the performance of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in the East Room of the White House this evening.

PRESIDENT OBAMA is planned to sign Wednesday what is being described as the nation's first significant pro-gay rights legislation. Attached to the defense authorization act, the measure could add sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the list of protected classes under the 1969 federal hate-crimes law…

The law does not outlaw bigotry or "thought crimes." It applies only to "violent acts motivated by" the characteristics of the victim - act, not thoughts or speech. But crimes that target someone because of race or sexual orientation are extra offenses against that individual. They can terrorize complete communities.

President Obama Daughters Get Swine Flu Shots

2009-10-28T00:35:00.001-07:00

The Obama daughters have gotten their swine flu shots.

The White House has been weighing how to address public interest in whether the first family has been vaccinated against swine flu.

President Obama and his wife, Michelle, will “wait until the needs of the priority groups” - including young people under 24, pregnant women and people with causal illnesses - have been met. But daughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, fall within the priority groups, and they received their injections last week from the White House doctor, who apply for the vaccine through the District of Columbia Department of Health “using the same process as every other vaccination site in the District.”

The vaccinations could raise questions about whether the Obama girls were given special treatment, as the administration grapples with concern that the vaccine is not more readily available. (Officials say the holdup is with manufacturers, whose production procedure has been slower than anticipated.) While there are lines at vaccination clinics in the capital, a spokesperson for the Health Department said no one who fell into a priority group had been turned away.

Obama declared swine-flu emergency

2009-10-26T02:43:00.000-07:00

Responding to a dramatic surge in the number of U.S. swine flu cases, President Barack Obama has sign a proclamation declaring H1N1 influenza a national emergency.

The order by Mr. Obama, announced on the weekend, will speed the ability of hospitals and health establishment to take measures to fight the pandemic through such steps as setting up tents in hospital parking lots to establish extra emergency room care and creating health clinics in school gymnasiums or community centres.

"The rates of illness continue to increase rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some locations," Mr. Obama said in the declaration.

The White House said in a statement that the declaration will allow medical centers to deal with a surge in H1N1 patients by allowing, as needed, the waiver of certain federal health requirements.

President Obama and the flying circus

2009-10-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama and the Flying Circus is a perfect term to explain current President of the United States and his prominent cabinet.

For the past year and a partly every single day was and still is about Barack Obama and his extravaganza. Days just doesn’t go by without hearing about Obama.

What did Obama say? What did Obama do? In addition, we have witnessed media madness for Obama's dog, Obama's citizenship, Obama's family, Obama's religion, Obama's cabinet, Obama's associates, among others.

However, this ongoing entertainment and late night shows by Obama and his sidekicks are not charming anymore.

And, in return for his surprising global entertainment, Barack Obama got a present from his circus-men: his first Nobel Peace Prize.

Instead of an Oscar or Emmy, he gets, yes, the Nobel Prize.

The award came as a surprised even to the President Obama himself, he said: "To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures".

It is not so important that Barack Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize, since the Nobel Prize lost its original meaning long moment ago. But, most frightening is that people who support this prize and speak about peace forget the meaning of the word "Peace".

Clinton to outline steps for Barack obama's nuke-free world

2009-10-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set Wednesday to outline key steps Washington will take to fulfill President Barack Obama's vision of a world free of nuclear weapons.

In a speech in Washington, Clinton will show how the world will be safer through a new US-Russia nuclear arms reduction treaty as well as broader ratification of a treaty banning nuclear weapons tests, officials said.

"It's going to be an important opportunity for the secretary to lay out our priorities to implement the president's vision at Prague," Clinton's spokesman Ian Kelly said Tuesday.

In a speech in the Czech capital on April 5, Obama pledged to lead a quest for a world purged of atomic weapons when he unveiled a plan to cut stockpiles, curtail testing, choke fissile production and secure loose nuclear material.

A new review conference for the NPT is planned for next year.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said these also include approval of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the start of work on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.

Barack Obama earned that peace prize

2009-10-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

Why then is so much controversy, even scorn, being pour on the heads of the members of Nobel Committee, who selected United States President Barack Obama as this year's winner of the Peace Prize? How come so many Americans find themselves disagreeing with the option and even ridiculing their president, instead of hailing the chief for joining such a select band of individuals? Answers abound.

For first thing, the award came out of the proverbial blue. Few people at house or abroad expected that Obama, in office for less than a year, would have been selected. But surprise isn't a best reason for spewing vitriol.

For another, the president's bitter opponents, particularly the powerful extreme right wing, can't find a single thing to accept with grace when it comes to Obama.

Thirdly, it was an implicit shot by the Nobel Committee to the standard-bearer of the Republican right, previous President George W Bush. Obama's selection was asking to rubbing salt into an open wound.

Clearly, the president was an excellent option. His trips to Europe, Central America, Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and other regions of the world have brightened the prospects of global peace.

Obama visit to New Orleans as president

2009-10-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

President Obama visit New Orleans on Thursday for the first time since taking office, to address rebuilding efforts in the city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina four years ago.

During his trip, Obama will visit a charter school and host a town hall meeting to hear residents' concern, the White House said.

The president's visit will focus on efforts to assist rebuild the Gulf Coast, including cutting red tape and easing funding so residents can become self-sufficient.

"The president made a promise to come to New Orleans and wanted to complete that promise as soon as his schedule allowed," said Nicholas Shapiro, White House spokesman.

In order for President Obama to increase a full understanding of the challenges we are facing in our recovery, he needs to extend his planned visit to New Orleans, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, said at a news conference Monday.

Shapiro said the administration is committed to serving Gulf Coast residents, and has ensured financial assistance to the area.

More than $1 billion in Recovery Act money has been targeted for New Orleans, funding approximately 1,000 projects - work on roads, bridges, Army Corps construction, schools, and health centers and more, he said.

Final outcomes of U.S. health care systems

2009-10-14T00:33:00.000-07:00

Congress took a historic step toward overhauling the founder U. S. health-care system yesterday; when Democrats on a key Senate committee - backed by a lone Republican moderate - approved compromise legislation aimed at extend medical coverage to most Americans.

But after months of backroom bartering, the big issue in the politically charged debate remains unresolved - the fate of a government-run insurance option endorsed by President Barack Obama.

Mr. Obama has good reason to remain cautious about the final outcomes of the health-care debate.

The Senate finance committee was the last of five congressional panels to finish the work on the legislation, marking the first time in decades Congress has come this close to producing such far-reaching health-care legislation.

In the more liberal House of Representatives, the Democratic leadership is almost certain to include a public-insurance option in a last version of three competing bills approved at a lower level.

People who refuse to buy insurance could face maximum fines of US$750 an adult and US$1,900 a family, though the harshest penalties are delayed until 2017.

Obama speech to Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

2009-10-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama spoke Saturday at the yearly fundraiser for the gay-activist Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

The president told the crowd he supports the gay activist event.

"When you look back on these years," he said, "you will see a time in which we as a nation lastly recognized relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman."

Obama promised that he would end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the Clinton-era policy that permits gay men and women to serve in the armed forces as long as they don't reveal their sexual orientation.

Robert Knight, senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries, said the president is just trying to please a powerful and vocal constituency.

The president also promised to pass hate-crimes legislation and cancel the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

He said those who support marriage between one man and one woman "hold fast to outworn arguments and old attitudes."

"That would be the Bible," said Knight. "All people who think it's normal and usual for marriage to be between a man and a woman, the president of the United States is saying that's old and outworn."

Barrack obama aide defend stimulus package

2009-10-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

U.S. President Barack Obama's top economic adviser said on Monday the United States is on the path toward economic recovery, conditions in financial markets are steadier and there has been initial signs of stabilization in the housing market.

"Thanks largely to the Recovery Act, alongside an aggressive financial stabilization plan and a program to keep responsible homeowners in their houses, we have walked a substantial distance back from the economic abyss and are on the path toward economic recovery," Larry Summers said in a letter to be sent to Republican House Leader John Boehner that amounted to a defense of the Democratic Obama administration's policies on the economy.

The U.S. economy lost jobs at a monthly regular rate of 256,000 in the third quarter of 2009, which summers termed "unacceptably high." But he noted it was nearly a third of the pace of job losses of two quarters ago.

One dilemma for Obama is that Republicans, seizing on increasing in the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent, argue that the $787 billion stimulus package passed earlier this year was ineffective. Republicans are pushing for additional tax cuts as the result to the country's economic woes.

President Obama to win the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-09T04:08:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his amazing efforts to make stronger global diplomacy and support between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempt to curb nuclear proliferation.

The stunning choice made Obama the third sitting U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize and surprised Nobel observers because Obama took office less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nominate deadline. Obama's name had been mention in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president.

The Nobel committee praise Obama's creation of "a new climate in international politics" and said he had returned multilateral diplomacy and institutions like the U.N. to the center of the world stage. The plaudit appearing a slap at President George W. Bush from a committee that harshly criticized Obama's predecessor for resorting to largely unilateral military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The Nobel committee received a record 205 nominations for this year's prize though it was not immediately apparent who nominated Barrack Obama.

Obama 'sees role for Taliban in Afghanistan's political future'

2009-10-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama is ready to accept a role for the Taliban in Afghanistan's political future in a major shift of policy towards the Islamic radicals who are attacking US and British troops, it has been reported.

As he assess a request from his top commander in Afghanistan to dispatch one more 40,000 troops to fight the Taliban, he is also "inclined" to send only as a lot of as needed to keep al-Qaeda at bay.

The assessment was given to the Associated Press by a senior official involved in Mr Obama's discussions with his top national safety and military advisors about Afghanistan strategy.

There is believed to be a rising favor in his war council for differentiating between native Afghan Taliban factions and the foreign extremists of al-Qaeda. Several of the president's advisors are arguing that the Taliban are predominantly fighting against what is perceived as Nato "occupation" while it is al Qaeda that poses a threat to US defence.

Aides have made clear that Mr Obama is improbable to reach a final decision on strategy and troop numbers before the end of October.

But it seems more and more unlikely that he will grant the request from Gen Stanley McChrystal, the commander he appointed only this summer, for an extra 40,000 US troops to join the 68,000 who will already be in Afghanistan by the end of the year.

Obama’s better health care plan for all

2009-10-07T00:17:00.001-07:00

Obama Plan will do for you:
• Reducing High Out-of-Pocket expenses
• Forbid the "Rationing" of profit by Insurance Companies
• Benefit Small Businesses, Not Burden to any of Them
• Make a Level Playing Filed for Small Businesses to Cover Their Employees
• avoid Gender Discrimination
• Not Allow Coverage to by drop for Seriously Ill
• Avoid Pre-Existing Condition Discrimination
• Offer No-Cost Sharing for Preventive Care
• Reduce Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage
• Give Extended Coverage for Young Adults
• Offer Guaranteed Insurance Renewal
• Make an Independent Commission to Identify waste, fraud and abuse
• Offers Low Cost Insurance Through a "High-Risk" Pool for public with Pre-Existing Conditions
• Provide an Affordable Public Option to The Uninsured
• Protect Families From Debt or Bankruptcy Due to Health Care Costs
Obama Plan Will Not Do:
• Lead to a "government takeover" of Health Care
• In Any Way Encourage or Require Euthanasia
• Not Cut Medicare profit
• Not Add to the Deficit, but Will Actually eliminate Long-Term Costs

United States has its roots in India of Mahatma Gandhi: Obama

2009-10-02T02:39:00.000-07:00

As the world celebrate International Day of non-violence, US President Barack Obama on Thursday said America has its "roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi."

"His teachings and ideals, shared with Martin Luther King Jr. on his 1959 pilgrimage to India, transformed American society through our civil rights movement," Obama said on the time of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Americans owe huge gratitude to Gandhi, he said.

"The America of today has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi and the nonviolence social action movement for Indian independence which he led," Obama said on a statement.

On behalf of the American people, Obama said he need to express appreciation for the life and lessons of Mahatma Gandhi on the anniversary of his birth. "This is an important moment to reflect on his message of non-violence, which continues to inspire people and political movements across the globe," obama said.

"We join the people of India in celebrates this great soul who lived a life dedicated to the cause of advancing justice, showing tolerance to all, and creating change through non-violent resistance," Obama said.

As the world remember the Mahatma on his birthday, Obama said: "We must renew our commitment to live his ideals and to celebrate the dignity of all human beings".

Doctors and Nurses so powerfully support President Obama's plan

2009-10-01T00:42:00.000-07:00

Americans listen to their doctors and nurses when it comes to health reform - and for good reason. If we could help them amplify their voices, it'll be a huge boost to our campaign for change.

So we're working on a new television ad featuring their voices explaining why doctors and nurses so powerfully support President Obama's plan - and asking Congress to pass it. We'll run the ad in key states and districts all around the country to prove folks where health professionals stand, cut through the spin, and build even greater support for reform.

The American Medical Association, Doctors for America, and a dozen other physicians groups representing 500,000 doctors are endorsing the reform. So are the American Nurses Association and other organization representing millions of Nurses.

But the final congressional committee could vote on their reform bill as early as Wednesday - and debate on final legislation can start by the end of the week. So if we're going to assist make these doctors and nurses' voices heard, we'll need to do it right now.

Barrack obama’s plan and Medicare

2009-09-29T03:12:00.000-07:00

A few key points on President Barrack obama’s plan and Medicare:

• President Obama is committed to protecting and strengthening Medicare for America’s seniors - Medicare beneficiaries will not experience any cuts in benefits as a solution of reform.

• His plan does not use a penny of the Medicare trust fund to pay for reform; instead, it eliminates waste, fraud and abuse to make stronger the financial health of the program.

• The President has planned to eliminate waste from the Medicare Advantage program to strengthen the financial health of the overall program

• Medicare Advantage is one of the parts of Medicare program that allows beneficiaries to receive services through private insurance plans.

• At present, private insurance companies that participate in Medicare Advantage receive significant subsidies from the government. Medicare pays those private plans 14 percent more on regular than they pay traditional Medicare - but doesn’t result in any better care for seniors.

• Putting an end to these overpayments will strengthen the Medicare program; expand its solvency and lower costs for all beneficiaries.

• The scare strategy on Medicare is just the latest in a series of politically motivated attacks by some Republicans to stall and kill reform.

• Republicans has never championed Medicare - they have been waging a war against the program for years. In fact, as recently as last April, 80 percent of House Republicans voted to “end Medicare as we know it” by turning it into a voucher program that would have provided seniors a fixed sum of money to purchase private insurance, a plan one AARP policy official called “a very dangerous idea.”

Can barrack Obama make Middle East peace?

2009-09-24T02:15:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama is best at making speeches. His best ones create a strongly seductive political mood that change is coming, not just at home but in the way the United States does business with the rest of the world.

His address to the UN General Assembly showed, once again, not simply his rhetorical skill but his understanding of the forces that drive international affairs.

But his speeches can’t answer the biggest question about Mr Obama's leadership: can he translate fine words into concrete actions?

So far he could not manage it in the Middle East. No reasonable being should expect a solution inside his first year.

But Mr Obama has suffered because of the expectations that his own words has aroused.

Michelle Obama didn't desire Hillary Clinton as US V-P: Book

2009-09-22T03:03:00.000-07:00

In what may not go down well with Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama Didn’t favor the current Secretary of State as husband Barack Obama's vice-presidential nominee in the race to White House, a new book has claimed.

According to the book, 'Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage', Michelle instead favored Joe Biden, the President's eventual choice.

"Do you really want Bill and Hillary now down the hall from you in the White House? Could you live with that?" Michelle allegedly told her husband who later appointed the Former US First Lady as his Secretary of State.

The book has also exposed that it was Michelle who persuaded her husband to use the winning campaign slogan "Yes We Can!" during his 2004 senate race, even after Obama thought the phrase was "childish" and "corny" when it was proposed by his adviser David Axelrod.

But, Michelle told him: "It will work. Trust me." Moreover, Andersen, who has so far penned 28 books, including best-sellers on the Clintons, Princess Diana and Caroline Kennedy, has claim Obama dragged his feet over marriage and that Michelle talked to friends about adoption because of early difficulties conceiving.

Obama faces leadership analysis at UN, G20

2009-09-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

U.S. President Barack Obama began biggest week yet on the world stage, facing pressure for results on an agenda of rekindling Middle East peace talks, tackling climate change and reshaping financial regulations.

Obama's global star power remains strong but doubts are emerging about what he can deliver in a week in which he will make his United Nations debut and host a financial summit.

The nuclear argument with Iran and the Afghanistan war will be among the top issues as Obama begins three days of U.N. meetings on Tuesday. He will lay out his foreign policy idea in his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.

At home, Obama's once sky-high approval ratings have tumbled in recent months in the middle of a heated debate over his proposal to reform the healthcare system as well as doubts about his handling of the economy.

Obama looks to rally support for health-care plan at college speech

2009-09-18T01:33:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama sought to rally support from young people for his health-care plan, telling a college viewers Thursday that the debate is the "defining struggle of this generation.”

The president addressed a cheering audience at the University of Maryland in College Park, just outside Washington, as he tried to assemble some of the same people who helped propel his presidential campaign.

"You believe America can still do great things," Obama said. "I need your voice."

The president offers no new proposals, repeating the outline he gave last week in an address to a joint session of Congress - include as his support for a government-run insurance plan. That provision faces unified opposition from Republicans and it is not included in the latest version of a health-care system overhaul in the Senate.

"When I was running for president I never said change would be easy," Obama said, frequently invoking his campaign theme during his speech. Everyone must do their part, he said, adding that, "Americans are ready and willing to take on that responsibility."

As he finished his remarks, Obama led many of the estimated 15,000 people packed into the arena in a chant of "Fired up, ready to go," which became an Obama campaign slogan in the presidential race. "Let's go change the world," he said.

Obama backs Chicago's Olympic bid for 2016

2009-09-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday deliver a strong, personal and highly visible endorsement to the 2016 Olympic bid of his hometown of Chicago.

Obama, who will be busy with healthcare reform, will send his wife Michelle to lobby for Chicago ahead of the vote process.

The International Olympic Committee decides the host city for the 2016 Summer Games on October 2 in Copenhagen.

Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro are the finalists.

Rio de Janeiro, bidding becomes the first South American city to host an Olympics, and Chicago is being seen as front-runners.

Obama addressed the union members, thanking them for support and priorities

2009-09-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, the President travel to Pittsburgh, PA for the annual AFL-CIO convention. He addressed the gather union members, thanking them for their support and laying out his priority. He spoke about the Recovery Act, his priorities for renewal a new, greener economy, and how health insurance reform will help all Americans achieve security and stability when it comes to their medical care.

Experts from the speech:

For over half a century, the achievement of America has been built on the success of our middle class. It was the formation of the middle class that lifted this nation up in the wake of a Great Depression.

We are putting Americans to work across this country rebuilding breakdown roads and bridges and waterways with the largest investment in our infrastructure since Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s.

I have also said that one of the options in this exchange should be a public option. (Applause.) Now, let me be clear. Let me be clear, because there is been a lot of misinformation out here about this. This could just be an option. Nobody has forced to choose it. No one with insurance could be affected. But what it would do is suggest Americans more choices, and promote real competition, and put pressure on private insurers to make their policies affordable and treat their customers better.

Easy to Host a Watch Party

2009-09-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

President Obama will carry a major address to spell out his vision for health insurance reform to a special joint session of Congress. As we head into the next phase of the debate, the President's address will be a main moment in our campaign for change.

Across the country, Organizing for America supporters will be meeting at local watch parties with friends, neighbors and fellow supporters to hear directly from the President. Afterward, everyone at the party will be invited to join a particular conversation with Obama for America campaign manager David Plouffe to discuss how we can help make the President's vision a reality.

Hosting a watch party is easy. Just select a location where friends and neighbors can gather around a TV, set out some chairs, and have a great evening with folks who share your passion about the need for change.

There are several OFA supporters in your area who would love to join a watch party Wednesday night, but they won't be able to if someone like you doesn't open your doors to host. This is also an opportunity to reach out to friends, family and colleagues who still have questions about reform, so they can hear the details from the President himself.

Obama says that he would like to have dinner with Mahatma Gandhi

2009-09-09T01:47:00.000-07:00

US President Barack Obama has said given a chance he would like to have dinner with Mahatma Gandhi, whom he considers as a real hero.
Obama called for students to take task and to learn from their failures so that they succeed in the end.
"Hi. I'm Lilly. If you can have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be," Obama was asked by one of the students.

"Dinner with anyone dead or alive? Well, you know, dead or alive, that's a attractive big list," Obama responded amidst laughter. The next second he was serious.

"You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a actual hero of mine," Obama said. "Now, it would almost certainly be a really small meal because he didn't eat a lot," he said amidst laughter. But Mahatma Gandhi is someone who has enthused people across the world for the past several generations, he said.
"In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embody the kind of transformational change that could be made when normal people come together to do extraordinary things," he wrote in the ethnic India Abroad newspaper last year.

Our kids want President Obama's wisdom

2009-09-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

The start of school has been moved in front a day, so our kids will miss some hard-earned wisdom from the man who proved anyone really can grow up to be President.

They will also miss a great opportunity to discuss why nut-job conservatives got into such a tizzy over President Obama's back-to-school speech Tuesday to students across the country about the importance of assuming responsibility for their education.

Our own kids have started the year with those words, but deals between the city and the teachers and principals unions moved the start of classes from today to tomorrow.

And no kid can be expected to come in from playing to tune the TV past the Disney Channel to a message from the President, even one as profoundly and historically cool as Obama.

Tomorrow, partly in answer to the nut jobs, more for the sake of our kids, each school in the city should begin by playing Obama's message.

Obama is fast losing white voters' support

2009-09-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

The Obama family returned from Camp David. It's unclear whether President Obama's ratings slip is based on personal issues or policy.

His approval ratings with the critical bloc have plunged since April. Strategists say the healthcare debate is mainly to blame, but that's not the only reason.

After a summer of healthcare battles and sliding approval ratings for President Barack Obama, the White House is facing a troubling new trend: The voters losing faith in the president are the one he had worked hardest to attract.

New surveys show steep declines in Obama's approval ratings among whites - including Democrats and independents - who were critical elements of the diverse coalition that helped elect the country's first black president.

Surveys show that the vast majority of Americans like Obama personally, but that they are ever more skeptical of policies that seem to expand the scope of government.

Obama hosts Iftaar celebrates at White House

2009-09-04T02:15:00.000-07:00

US President Barack Obama praise Islam and American Muslims during an Iftaar party hosted by him at the White House and said he was committed to build a better relationship between the US and Muslim world.

"Together, we have a responsibility to foster appointment grounded in mutual interest and mutual respect. And that's one of my fundamental commitments as President, both at home and abroad," Obama said at the Iftaar, the meal that break the daily fast during Ramadan, on Tuesday evening - his first at the White House.

"Tonight (Sep 2), we celebrate a great religion, and its commitment to justice and development. We honor the contributions of America's Muslims, and the positive example that so many of them set through their own lives. And we rededicate ourselves to the work of building improved and more confident world," he said.

Obama gives major health speech

2009-09-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

Correspondents say Mr Barack Obama will use the speech to regain the initiative on healthcare, after a summer dominated by opponents.

Passing a healthcare reform bill is Mr Obama's best policy priority for 2009.

The House of Representatives looks set to pass a bill, but US senators have yet to agree on the particulars of reform.

Although Mr Obama has given a lot of speeches on healthcare reform at town hall meetings throughout the US, his address to Congress will be his most high-profile intervention in the healthcare debate since he entered the White House.

Mr Obama made a strategic decision to let lawmakers take the lead on drafting a healthcare bill, and urge each house of congress to pass a bill before the beginning of August.

Obama Could Face Troubles Over CIA Investigation

2009-08-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

The Obama administration has opened up a Pandora's Box of trouble for itself by moving ahead with an investigation of controversial interrogation practice of suspected terrorists that were used during George W. Bush's administration.

Attorney General Eric Holder named a special prosecutor to look into the allegations, but that won't be the finish of it. Washington insiders of both parties predict that congressional Democrats will now feel embolden to pursue their own investigations into what many Democrats consider torture, complete with hearings and angry recriminations.

"You know that Congress will want to throw its oar into the water," says a past adviser to a GOP president and that, in the end, many people will be appalled by the probes.
"Americans will think this an effort to embarrass or punish people who were trying to protect us from those who were trying to hurt us. This won't come out well." He and other analysts predict that the hard feelings over the "torture investigations" will pollute the debate in other areas, including healthcare, and undermine Obama's larger agenda.

Obama targets medicare advatages

2009-08-27T01:53:00.000-07:00

Mr. Obama was wise to vacation this week on Martha’s Vineyard. Not because it's one of the few places in America where his health-care plan is still popular, but because by getting out of Washington he gave staff times to repair his vaunted message machine, which was starting to break down.

Two weeks ago, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod said in a now famous "viral" email that, "It's a myth that health insurance reform would be financed by cutting Medicare profits." This was sent out the day before Mr. Obama told a Montana town hall that he would pay for health-care reform by "eliminating . . . about $177 billion over 10 years" for "what's called Medicare Advantage." And it was two days before Mr. Obama told a Colorado town hall he would cover "two-thirds" of the "roughly $900 billion" of his plan's cost by "eliminating waste," again citing Medicare Advantage.

Medicare Advantage was enacting in 2003 to allow seniors to use Medicare funds to buy private insurance plans that fit their needs and their budgets. They get better health care and better value for their money.

Previously, an estimated 10.2 million seniors - one out of five in America - have enrolled in Medicare Advantage. Mr. Obama is proposing to cut the program by almost 20% and thus reduce the amount of money each will have to buy insurance. This will probable force most of them to lose the insurance they have now. Yet Mr. Obama promises in late July in New Hampshire that, "if you like your health-care plan, you can keep your health-care plan."

Barack obama advisers: Swine flu attacks nearly half the US population

2009-08-26T01:49:00.000-07:00

President Obama's science advisers warned Monday that swine flu could infect almost half the U.S. population this fall and winter and cause up to 90,000 deaths, mostly in kids and young adults. The estimation is double the deaths normally associated with the seasonal flu.

The report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology laid out a "plausible scenario" where the H1N1 virus might infect 60 million to 120 million people. As many as 1.8 million people can be admitted to hospitals with up to 300,000 of them requiring treatment in intensive care units, the council found.

"This is going to be fairly serious," said Harold E. Varmus of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, cochair of 21-member council. "It's going to stress every aspect of our health system."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that parents get their family vaccinate once the shot is available.

Barack Obama stands by health care plan on radio

2009-08-24T04:45:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama said Thursday any health care overhaul bill he signs should reduce rapidly rising health care costs, protect consumers from insurance abuses and provide affordable choices to the uninsured - while not adding to the federal deficit.

Obama listed those four "bullet points" as his basic necessities in response to a question from a caller to a Philadelphia-based talk radio show. Host Michael Smerconish interviewed Obama at the White House during the show and Obama took questions from a number of listeners.

Another caller said he sensed the administration's "knees buckling" under criticism of the proposal. Obama said he was as determined as always and "I guarantee you, Joe, we are going to get health care done."

Michelle Obama - newcomers in a list of the world's most powerful women

2009-08-20T02:29:00.000-07:00

US First Lady Michelle Obama - among the newcomers in a list of the world's most powerful women.
Mrs Obama made her initial appearance at number 40 on the list for Forbes Magazine, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel took the top spot for the fourth time.

Only four UK women complete the Top 100 - down from five last year. They were led by Anglo American chief executive Cynthia Carroll, in fourth position.

"We look at hundreds of women who are at the top of their fields in politics, business, and non-profits, and set them against one another to see how they rank in terms of power," said Chana Schoenberger, co-editor of the list.

As well as Mrs Obama, Iceland's first female prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, complete her debut on the list - mainly due to her being charged with getting her country's banking system back on its feet after Iceland was forced to rescue its three main banks last year.

Barack Obama and his family in paradise

2009-08-18T02:39:00.001-07:00

When Barack Obama was 11, his mother and grandmother took him and his half-sister Maya on the most American of family vacations - a road trip that included Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Last week, Obama passed on that gift as he took his wife, daughters Malia and Sasha - as well as Maya and her family - on a four-day trip to two of America's most breathtaking national parks.

"It was nice the entire family was there," National Park Service spokesman Gerry Gaumer noted - not just the immediate family, but the extended family. "Rather than a presidential visit, it seemed more like a vacation."

Barack Obama's Family Tree

2009-08-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama's Family Tree

The Next Generation

Barack and Michelle have two children, Malia, now 10, and Sasha, 7.

Michelle
Barack met his wife in the late 1980s, when the two worked at the prestigious Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin. They were married in 1992. Shortly thereafter, they spent a Christmas in Hawaii, where this photo was taken.

Kenya
Sarah Obama, now 86, still resides in Kogelo. In this photo, she and Obama pose together outside her home in 1995.

Extended Family
On his father's side, Obama has numerous relatives. He has made several visits to the home of his step grandmother, Sarah Obama, front row, second from right. He also has four half brothers through his father.

Family Ties
When Ann returned to Indonesia, the young Barack remained behind in Hawaii, where he was raised by his maternal grandparents. He eventually attended Columbia University in New York, where this photo was taken in the 1980s.

Half Sister
Maya Soetoro, the daughter of Barack's mother and her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, sits beside the young Barack, Ann and grandfather Stanley Dunham in this photograph taken in Hawaii the early 1970s. Ann came back to Hawaii to attend graduate school in 1974 and remained until 1977, when she returned to Indonesia.

Reunion
After the divorce, Barack Jr. only saw his father one more time, in Hawaii, in 1972, when this photograph was taken. The senior Barack then returned to Kenya, where he worked for a US oil company and the Kenyan government. He died in a car accident in 1982, at the age of 46.

The Young Obama
For the first six years of his life, Barack lived in Hawaii. In 1967, his mother remarried and the family moved to Indonesia.

Parents
Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham married in February, 1961 and Barack was born six months later. Their union did not last long, however. The marriage ended in divorce in early 1964.

Father
Born in Kenya, Barack Obama Sr. came to the University of Hawaii in order to study for a degree in economics. This photograph hangs on the wall of his stepmother's house in Kogelo, Kenya.

Mother
Though she has signed this sophomore yearbook photograph of herself "Stanley" — her parents named her Stanley Ann at birth — Obama's mother was known as Ann for most of her life. After attending Mercer Island High School in Washington, she enrolled at the University of Hawaii, where she met Barack Obama, Sr.

Grandparents

Stanley and Madelyn Dunham pose with Obama's mother Ann in a photograph probably taken in the 1950s. Born in Kansas, Obama's maternal grandparents lived in four states before settling in Hawaii.

Farmers

Louisa Eliza Stroup Dunham and Jacob Mackey Dunham are the candidate's great-great-great grandparents. A farmer in Tipton, County, Indiana in the 1870s, Jacob Dunham later owned restaurants and a confectionary in the Oklahoma Territory. He died in 1907.

Supreme Court Justice

Obama's distant cousin, Gabriel Duvall, was a member of the US House of Representatives, from the second district of Maryland. In 1811, he was appointed to the Supreme Court, where he sat until 1834. He was also a friend of Thomas Jefferson and the owner of 37 slaves.

LIVE: Secretary Sebelius on Health Reform Myths

2009-08-08T02:14:00.000-07:00

If you’ve been following the health insurance reform debate, you probably have a number of questions about how health insurance reform will help you and improve the quality of care you receive. With all the talk about health insurance reform, it can be difficult to sort out fact from fiction.

We want to be sure you have the facts and answer your questions. Today, I’ll be moderating a webcast with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and other top HHS officials where we’ll discuss how health insurance reform will benefit all Americans and take on some of the myths you may have heard. The webcast will begin at 1:00 PM EDT and you can watch it at www.healthreform.gov. You can also watch and discuss using the White House Facebook application.

During the webcast, we’ll be answering your questions. Questions can be emailed to hhsstudio@hhs.gov or submitted via Twitter by using the hashtag #HCRQ.

President Barack Obama - His Mortgage Refinance and Modification Stimulus Plan

2009-07-31T02:29:00.001-07:00

Newly elected President Barack Obama is very conscious of the latest financial and job situation in the country leaves and that it leaves many homeowners nervous about the future. Home prices have fallen to record lows and foreclosures are also climbing to all time highs, bringing neighborhood home values by as much as 15%. Property and home values have fallen so steep that numerous homeowners now owe far more on their mortgages than their home is actually worth or will be worth in the next two decades. Because of these problems, the President Barack Obama has presented the housing and homeowner stimulus plan as the fix all for Americans who are close to losing their homes.

The Making Home Affordable plan was announced in February 2009 and has been running with very questionable results since then. Many borrowers no longer have any equity let alone the 20% equity that is often needed for mortgage refinancing these days. The stimulus or Making Home Affordable plan, from Pres. Obama is supposed to make it easier for homeowners to refinance or modify their current primary mortgage and receive lower monthly payments helping many homeowners temporarily avoid foreclosure.

The ultimate goal of the Making Home Affordable Plan is to help over 9 million homeowners keep their homes and avoid foreclosure or defaulting on their loan until the depression is over as most loans are short term fixes only. This is done by giving incentives to mortgage lenders to use new government guidelines for approving mortgage refinances. So with only a small incentive and slightly less risk to mortgage lenders some are choosing to be more compromising on who can refinance.

We believe the projected number of 9 million homeowners helped will be closer to 1 million as some lenders appear to be balking at governments incentives.

With the Making Homes Affordable program, the final mortgage payment will still not be allowed to exceed 38% of the homeowners gross monthly income. This is great news for a lot of homeowners who are fighting to make their monthly mortgage payment. A lot of homeowners currently pay 50% or more of their income towards making the mortgage payment. A 12 - 20 percent reduction would add up to a lot of saved money every month, but still leave homeowners with a house now worth hundreds of thousands less then they owe on their mortgage.

Refinancing your home can either save you thousands or cost you thousands. Predatory mortgage lenders will take advantage of you every chance they get. Learn how to properly refinance a mortgage and walk away with more money and a smile.

Autobiography of Barack Obama

2009-07-31T02:28:00.001-07:00

President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to Barack Obama Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama Sr., a Muslim, was an exchange student from Kenya and his mother was from Kansas. Barack Obama's father abandoned his family soon after he was born and he was brought up by his mother.

Ann Dunham started to date Lolo Sobero, another Muslim and soon married him and moved to Indonesia. Obama went to a Muslim school in Indonesia. Throughout this time, Obama kept in touch with his father Barack Obama Sr. who was now living in Kenya. They exchanged a number of letters and these became the subject for Obama's book, Dreams from my father.

Later on in life, he moved back to the United States to live with his maternal grandparents. He was particular close to his grandmother who took out a number of loans in order to finance Barack Obama's education. She died 2 days before he was elected the President of the United States.

Obama attended Columbia University and then Harvard, where he received his law degree. There, he excelled in academics and sports. After he graduated, he joined a civil rights law firm where he met his future wife Michelle Obama, who was also a lawyer there and mentored him.

After they got married, Barack and Michelle Obama had two daughters, Sasha and Malia. They grew up in Chicago where Barack Obama was a community organizer.

In 2004, Obama won the senate seat from Illinois. He was only the fifth African American to do so. In that time, he became exceedingly popular within the Democratic Party.

In 2007, he entered the presidential race and contested the primaries against contenders like Hillary Clinton and his future vice president Joe Biden. In 2008, he was elected the first African-American president of the United States.

Along with the presidency, Obama has inherited a failing economy, two wars and a lot of domestic and international issues.

Obama's 2009 Stimulus Package May Benefit You This Year

2009-07-31T02:27:00.002-07:00

When you review your personal finances this year, you may want to take the time to see if the Obama administration's 2009 stimulus package can personally help your bottom line. As the country's economy teetered on the edge of a collapse, the administration focused on stimulating the economy in both the housing and the car market - areas which suffered the biggest hits.

There are many who may be able to benefit from the changes brought by the stimulus package this year to the first-time homebuyer tax credit. Last year there was a tax credit of $7500.00. This credit was saddled with a requirement that called for taxpayers to make annual repayments over a 15 year period. Now the first-time homebuyer tax credit has increased to $8000.00. The best part is that there is now no repayment is neccessary.

One must stay in the home for at least three months after purchase. If one should buy another home or use a different residence as their primary home, they will have to repay the credit. Those who purchased their home in 2008 may file an amended return in 2009. Those who purchase a home in 2009 can take advantage of the credit, as long as the home is purchased prior to filing their tax return.

There is also good news in the 2009 stimulus package for car buyers. Those who buy a car this year may realize a tax benefit and may also deduct the sales tax from their return. So if you are in the market for a new car, you may want to go ahead and take advantage of these tax breaks this year.

Hilary, Obama, Capitalism, and the Elite Puppet Masters

2009-07-31T02:27:00.001-07:00

There are tons of conspiracy theories out there about who is running America, who is running the world, and who is colluding with whom. The reality is that the game is so large with so many players that no one is really running much of anything, except their mouths in their own little caves.

Not long ago, a political activist and not so close acquaintance stated with regards to the topic of "Hilary, Obama, Capitalism, and The Elite Puppet Masters" that she believed there were issues with the Democratic politicians and she said; "I think Hillary Clinton leans in their direction. In the end Obama will likely do what he is told by the elites, but the jury is still out."

Hillary has often been called a hawk, but she often seems to be more of a realist than the Obama Administration, which seems to be wonderful at PR, and horrible at the completed product. Now that Hilary and Obama are joined we see some very interesting political bed partners. Although Hilary seems to be working hard at her job, when she isn't busy falling down and breaking bones.

Regarding; "the jury is still been out on Obama," some might say that if you believe that you must believe that the jury is a poll and the judges are the media? The elites obviously get it wrong half the time, even when only looking out for themselves. Unfortunately, we tax the people all the time, whether they win or lose, or it is a win/win for all concerned.

Indeed, there is no reason we cannot serve everyone with a capitalist motif, because those who produce the desired products and services are handsomely paid, if they fail to produce, well, hell they didn't deserve it anyway. And it's not as if the game is hard to play, the problem is we make to too easy to cheat; Lobbyists, and what Adam Smith warned us about. I hope you will consider all this.

Obama's 'Moms Return to School' Government Grant Scholarship

2009-07-31T02:24:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the new US government is committed to helping single moms return to school? Many mothers are not aware that the Obama's 'Moms Return to School' Government Grant Scholarship is available, but there are big benefits to finding out as much as you can about this offer.

Despite the bad economy at the moment, now is a good a time as any to be considering going to college; especially if you are a mom. When the economy bounces back (which it always does), qualified workers are going to be in big demand. So having completed a degree is going to put you in prime position to get your ultimate job.

Here are some of the facts about the Obama mom scholarship and grants.

Federal Pell Grants

One of the first bills introduced by Obama, the Federal Pell Grants are being increased for low income students. That means the maximum grant allowed now is $5100 instead of $4050. There is even talk of raising it more. If you are a single mother then is one of the very best grants that you can get.

You can apply for this grant by choosing a college or university that you wish to attend. Make sure they are running your chosen program or course first.

You then fill out a deferral FAFSA form and have it submitted.

Tax Benefits for Studying Moms

Also keep in mind that the The American Opportunity Tax Credit program states that your first $4000 of higher education is free.

Grants for Online Study

You can certainly apply for Obama's 'Moms Return to School' Government Grant Scholarship program if you are choosing to study online instead of on campus. In fact, online study is the most chosen path for moms who want to be at home with their children whilst being able to study at the same time.

You can also search out other suitable scholarships and grants for you. Some are particularly suited to moms and single moms and can offer even more money than the Federal Pell Grant.

Obama Tells Us That No Matter What Level We Reach - Keep Going!

2009-07-31T01:57:00.000-07:00

President Obama the other day told everyone that no matter what level that they reach in life that you must keep going and not give up, that you still have more left in you, and you have more to give. This is really good advice and yet, he is not the only leader to other such words.

If you'll recall Winston Churchill often gave a speech about "never giving up" to colleges and universities in his day. President Reagan had a famous speech alerting people that "Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win!" All these great men were right then, and President Obama is right today.

Even if you have become the best in the world at what you do, you must remember there is still more to do, and the job will never be completed. Until humans live in a perfect utopia; there is still unfinished business; and being the best is not enough.

Giving it your all may not be enough either, as sometimes you have to go beyond and pony up, and rise to the occasion. Sometimes you have to go beyond your abilities, and push yourself to greater heights. Isn't that what President Obama did?

This is what separates the men from the boys, and the good from the great. I hope you will understand what all these men were saying, and why Obama is repeating that message today. These are time tested and proven antidotes for the human endeavor. Don't waste your life experience, go beyond and enjoy being one with these other great man at the top. Please consider all this.

Bin Laden distressed by Obama?

2009-07-10T02:36:00.001-07:00

A day before President Barack Obama is to deliver a speech here seeking goodwill with the Islamic world, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden tried in a new message Wednesday to convince Muslims they should hate him.

The message was the second from al-Qaida in as many days criticizing Obama. Analysts said the PR offensive shows the terrorist organization worries the new president will succeed in improving America's image in the Muslim world and undermine the group's anti-American jihad, or holy war.

"Obama's election is just about the worst thing that could have happened to these guys," said Tom Sanderson, a terrorism expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "They knew right away that his election undermined a key part of their argument that the U.S. was anti-Islamic, that the U.S. was racist."

Obama's speech at Cairo University Thursday is part of a campaign to prove he differs from former President George W. Bush, whose invasion of Iraq and aggressive counterterrorism tactics stoked Muslim ire and helped al-Qaida rally support.

Al-Qaida has tried to counter that message by painting Obama as no different from Bush, highlighting U.S. involvement in the conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

In his audiotape, aired on Al-Jazeera television, bin Laden said Obama has inflamed hatred toward the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants and block Islamic law there.

He claimed U.S. pressure led to a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" that prompted the exodus of a million Muslims from the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan. He was referring to a Pakistani military campaign against the Taliban that began in April, an indication the tape was made since then.

"Obama and his administration have sown new seeds to increase hatred and revenge on America," bin Laden said. "The number of these seeds is equal to the number of displaced people from Swat Valley."

Bin Laden did not specifically mention Obama's speech in his message. Al-Jazeera did not say how or when the tape was obtained, and its authenticity could not be immediately verified.

On Tuesday, al-Qaida's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, said in an audio message that Obama's upcoming speech would not change Muslim sentiment because of the "bloody messages" the U.S. military is sending in Afghanistan and Iraq.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, in Saudi Arabia with Obama, said al-Qaida wants "to shift attention away from the president's historic efforts ... (to) have an open dialogue with the Muslim world."

Obama is popular in the Middle East, in part because of his friendly words toward Islam, his promises to withdraw from Iraq and his own personal background. Still many Arabs remain skeptical about how deeply he will change U.S. policy, which they see as biased toward Israel.

Sanderson said Obama's approach could make it harder for al- Qaida to recruit supporters and raise money.

"It starts to tighten up avenues for them for finance, for people, for information," said Sanderson.

Al-Zawahri has been critical of Obama since his election, even releasing a message that referred to Obama as a "house negro," a slur for a black subservient to whites. Bin Laden has been more sparing in his criticism, and his harsh rhetoric in Wednesday's message could indicate he has become more concerned about Obama's impact.

"They have been trying to present him as a continuation of the old policies and discredit him," Jeremy Binnie, an analyst with Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center in Britain, said. "I think to a certain extent that it shows they are worried by this guy."

Obama's decision to deliver his speech in longtime ally Egypt highlights one of al-Qaida's frequent propaganda points -- the alliances between the U.S. and repressive Arab governments.

Al-Zawahri called the Egyptian officials welcoming Obama U.S. "slaves" who have turned the country into an "international station of torture in America's war on Islam."

The Obama administration has hinted it won't hinge its relationship with Egypt on human rights demands and democracy promotion. Still, in an apparent nod to rights concerns, the Obama administration invited several opponents of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to the Cairo speech.

Ayman Nour, a top opposition leader who challenged Mubarak in 2005 elections and called for greater democracy, said he would attend. Nour was imprisoned on forgery charges after the election, sparking heavy criticism from Washington. He was released in February in an apparent gesture to the U.S.

Also attending are 11 lawmakers from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful opposition movement, said one of the 11, Mohammed Saad el-Katatni.

Many analysts argue Washington should engage the Brotherhood directly to show it is open to dealing with nonviolent Islamist movements. But U.S. administrations have balked, wary of upsetting Mubarak's government.

The Brotherhood, which calls for an Islamic state, renounced the use of violence in the 1970s and now says it seeks democratic reform in Egypt. It is banned and hundreds of its members have been arrested. Still, its members run as independents in elections and hold 20 percent of parliament's seats.

One prominent young Brotherhood activist, Abdel-Moneim Mahmoud, said Obama should talk to the movement "because we are moderate and nonviolent Muslims."

By doing so, Obama would help protect the U.S. "because only moderate and balanced-thinking Muslims can help to rid their countries of extremists," he said.

AP correspondent Hadeel al-Shalchi contributed to this report.
Copyright C 2009 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

Running Mate

2009-07-06T02:51:00.000-07:00

Running Mate

Obama wants your...

2009-06-26T01:48:00.002-07:00

Not long ago I was talking to someone about wealth, and he had an interesting thought. He said to me that in order to become successful, I was not supposed to covet another person’s money they make. When I asked him why, he said it was just something he learned.

He quoted me thus: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor”. That is one of the 10 Commandments of God. Exodus 20:17.

One of the things that my neighbors who work at AIG have or own is the salary and wages they earn. Now when a man or woman works, his or her wages and or salary are not considered to be a gift to him or her. Nope. They are considered to be an obligation from the employer to the employee. See Romans 4:4.

Obama, the Muslim Marxist Shah of America

Monday, March 16, 2009: Before I talk about the new steps we’re taking to get credit flowing to small businesses across our country, I want to comment on the news about executive bonuses at AIG.

This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed.

Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?

In the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the US Treasury. I’ve asked Secretary Geithner to use that leverage and pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.

Clearly we have a licensed lawyer, who also happens to be the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of America, claim that my neighbors, the AIG employees, they don’t “warrant” their wages in the form of bonuses. In fact, the property they own (the bonuses) is an outrage.

So to fix this outrage, the licensed lawyer from Illinois said that he has ordered the Treasury Secretary to “...pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole”.

Employment and Labor law contracts have to be honored

Unfortunately I do have to state the obvious. Under state and federal law, and the Bible, the employees wages are do to be paid. It doesn’t matter where the employer obtained the money from to pay the employees, the employees must be paid their wages.

Thus, the alleged Christian lawyer, Obama, is clearly inciting the Congress, the Treasury Secretary, and the American people to covet the wages of the AIG employees. And the way we are going to covet what my neighbors own is to become outraged at the payment of their wages based on where the employer made his money.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the 18th and 19th of March, 2009, there were reports that the AIG employees were so in fear of their personal safety that there had to be armed guards stationed at their work place. Then on Thursday, March 19, 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill that would basically target the AIG employees, and tax them so much so that their earned wages in the form of bonuses would be taken away from them.

Even bimbo lawyers, oops...I mean “legal experts” agree this is unlawful. In a Fox News online piece written on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, it stated:

But legal scholars say Congress will have a tough time defending itself in court if it goes down that road.

Not only would Congress be retroactively meddling with contractual agreements, they say, but it would be passing laws that would essentially target a specific group of employees.

The legal short of it is: there are state and federal employment and labor laws involved. Not to mention the United States Constitution prohibitions on bills of attainder and ex post facto laws.

More importantly, what do you think about this?

For as a man thinks, so is he. Proverbs 23:7. “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks”. Matthew 12:34.

When Osama Obama, Congress, and the Treasury Secretary began the hate and covet fest against my neighbors, I asked God what He thought about all this. Without a moment’s hesitation God replied to me “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against...those who defraud laborers of their wages...”. Malachi 3:5

The way my neighbors at AIG are being defrauded is as follows. At the formation of their contracts they were promised X dollars for Y work based on A,B, and C. Now the company has new owners who are saying, in effect, “Thanks for the work but we won’t pay you as agreed”.

What are the values that the “chosen one” Obama has. What is in his heart and mind? I thought you would never ask!!!

Those values are to consider his neighbors wages as a violation of Obama and company’s “fundamental values”. And the violation of Obama and company’s fundamental values was so disturbing to him that he was “...choked up with anger here”. See Yahoo news dated March 16, 2009, entitled “Obama: Block AIG bonuses”.

Obama, his Congress, and the Treasury Secretary have been amazingly successful in getting the American people to covet their neighbors wages. A Rasmussen poll result released March 19, 2009, says about 76% of Americans covet their neighbors bonuses (read wages).

In other words, we have Obama inciting people to covet other people’s possessions. Obama is shown to be inciting others to sin against God.

Back to successful living

For discussion sake, let’s say that Obama is a Christian. We saw that by him personally coveting his neighbors wages or other possessions was a sin.

We also saw that Obama personally and through his administration has incited 76% of Americans to covet and hate their neighbors because of their wages. Within that 76% of Americans who covet with Obama, a certain percentage are true Christians. Does God have anything to say about one Christian leading others into sin?

Jesus said, “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves”. Luke 17:1-3.

If Obama were a Christian you would see and hear him repent publicly. The Holy Spirit would torment him day and night until he repented and tried to get as many children of God to repent as well. So just keep your eyes and ears out for this. If it happens.

Get ready for bad stuff to happen

Why should you get ready for bad stuff to happen to you and the country? Very simple. God said he would personally come close to us for judgment. See Malachi 3:5 above. He would stand up for the employees whose wages have been taken away from them by fraud. By Obama and company.

And there is nothing that Obama can do to help you. Hope is not on its way. Judgment is.

Obama the muslim

By examining the fruit of Obama, it is clear that he is not a Christian. He is a fallen muslim. He is Satan’s son. The “chosen one”. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Are you going to serve Satan and Obama by coveting and hating your neighbors because of what they make in wages? Or are you going to serve God and his son Jesus Christ by shunning evil. By not coveting and hating your neighbor?

ACTION POINTS

1. Let the Holy Spirit cleanse you from all unrighteousness

2. Protect your wealth and possessions by praying negative prayers over those who are trying to take them from you

3. Improve your prayer and faith life by letting me help you. Let me encourage, teach, and support you through my book and emails. To get your own copy, go to http://www.kingofprayer.com

Collect the Obama Treasures at Obama Store Online

2009-06-26T01:48:00.001-07:00

As Barack Obama said on the night of his Presidential election victory:

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. “

To anyone who heard or saw this historic Election Night Victory Speech of Barack Obama in Chicago on November 4th 2008 knows that America has positively changed.

Having witnessed the impact of Barack Obama’s victory and his brilliant ascent to the Presidency in the United States, numerous people are collecting Obama artworks and Obama stuff, which will serve as a reminder of the turning point in American history As a symbol of the peoples’ support, Obama photos are being distributed and displayed not just in homes but as well in t-shirts. Even Obama speeches are considered mementos that will remind people of the hope, the change and the responsibility that we have to ourselves, our children, our Country and indeed the world that we have to be better and make this world a better place for all.

Since the popularity of the president, Obama collectibles are in hot demand, include innovative Obama gifts and Obama artworks. People from all walks of life who wanted to have a priceless Barack Obama merchandise need only to visit BarackObamaSuperstore.com. You can find the famous Obama art, Obama photos, Obama speeches, Barack Obama prints, Obama buttons, Michelle Obama merchandise, and other Barack Obama memorabilia. All of these can be yours to be kept as remembrance or be given to friends. Supporters can now enjoy their victory more by purchasing these items at such great prices considering its part of the great American history.

Like a bottle of fine wine that gets better with time, everything that you can find at BarackObamasuperstore.com has the potential to definitely become a treasure as the years unfold. History often has a way of providing riches that is kept hidden in simple artworks and posters that are hanged even on colorless walls. If you want to update your collection of Obama stuff, do it easily by visiting Obama store online. You will definitely find all the items available such as the Obama photos framed to your convenience. Make it one of the important portraits in your home and be proud of the first African American President that will make the present events quite significant in the future.

Obama has been warmly welcomed and received by huge crowds of thousands all around the world and has inspired so many. Make Barack Obama’s success your success as well. Let the story of a young boy now President of United States becomes your inspiration. Place these Obama collectibles in your home, office or place of business and let the Obama newspapers become a part of your library treasures. Even the inauguration items will serve remind you of the promises made that will affect the lives of millions. Share your enthusiasm for the President and America and show your support by giving your friends Barack Obama gifts. You can even mark your achievements and schedules in the Obama calendars.

You can never go wrong with the Obama collectibles that are now among the famous treasures marking the history of the United States. Let the Obama speeches inspire you to dream big and help others in your lifetime. Wear the Obama tee shirts or Obama watches as motivation reminding you that America is a place where anything is possible if you are willing to work hard, regardless of your class, race, color, sex or religion.

As the value of your Obama merchandise escalates in time let them be a reminder of the accomplishments made by an ordinary American willing to do extraordinary things that inspired a nation during his Presidential campaign. As President Obama said: His story could not have been possible anywhere else. He said,

“I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

This is your victory.