A Photo Gallery Of President Obama

Life at the top of the table: Obama holds a meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan with the national security team in the Situation Room

Behind The White House Curtain: Candid Photographs Of Barack Obama Reveal The Husband, Father And Statesman At Work And Play -- The Daily Mail

Today he woke up to headlines calling him the 'four trillion dollar man' as economists try to work out how the president will fill the hole in the U.S. deficit.

Barack Obama also has the ongoing situation in Libya on his plate, as well as the various diplomatic demands brought about by the 'Arab Spring'. He also has a re-election campaign to think about.

But in a series of new photographs released by the White House shows that while life as the most powerful man in the world undoubtedly brings a heavy burden, the man dealing with it is very human; a father, a husband and friend as well as a statesman.

Read more ....

My Comment: Daily Mail reporter Gavin Allen says that President Obama is a statesman .... hmmm .... I say not so fast. As for the photo gallery, my favorite is the last one, and the portrait above President Obama is that of a statesman.

"We Cannot Allow The Corporate Takeover Of Our Democracy"

1961 :



2010 :




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President Obama points out the fundamental hypocrisy of conservatives and Tea Partiers who demand an end to 'Big Government' :

“I think it’s fair to say, if six months ago, before this spill had happened, I had gone up to Congress and I had said we need to crack down a lot harder on oil companies and we need to spend more money on technology to respond in case of a catastrophic spill, there are folks up there, who will not be named, who would have said this is classic, big-government overregulation and wasteful spending.”

“Some of the same folks who have been hollering and saying ‘do something’ are the same folks who, just two or three months ago, were suggesting that government needs to stop doing so much.”

“Some of the same people who are saying the president needs to show leadership and solve this problem are some of the same folks who, just a few months ago, were saying this guy is trying to engineer a takeover of our society through the federal government that is going to restrict our freedoms.”

More From Politico Here

Is It Time For Corporate Criminals To Face The Death Penalty For Their Crimes?

By Darryl Mason


Source

How many Americans in Louisiana and Alabama would oppose the introduction of a death penalty for those found responsible for multi-billion dollar corporate negligence?

Raw Story :

President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to hold the culprits of the US oil disaster legally accountable, and promised to change the law if necessary to prevent history from repeating itself.

Terming the massive spill the "greatest environmental disaster of its kind in our history," Obama said the US government had an "obligation" to find out what caused the explosion of the BP operated Deepwater Horizon rig in April.

He raised the prospect of court action against those responsible for the spill, as Attorney General Eric Holder visited the Gulf to assess legal options.

"If the laws on our books are insufficient to prevent such a spill, the laws must change."

Change them to include, if a death penalty is going too far, a public flogging, preferably live to air on CNN. It's the only way they'll learn to be responsible, and value something more than profits.

The UK Guardian :

BP has now lost £44bn of its value since 20 April, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded.

City experts believe the combination of the continuing leak and the prospect of huge future legal costs and political damage in the US could be disastrous for the company.

Dougie Youngson, oil analyst at Arbuthnot, said: "This situation has now gone far beyond concerns of BP's chief executive Tony Hayward being fired, or shareholder dividend payouts being cut – it's got the real smell of death. This could break BP."

BP's going to try again with the undersea robots. If the robots succeed in cutting off the monumental flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (and soon the Florida Keys), President Barack Obama should give the robots fucking medals on the White House lawn. We are now relying on robots to stop what humans cannot.

BP has reportedly poured some $1 billion into fixing the worst environmental disaster in American history, and what could soon enough become a world emergency. Estimates on how much the undersea oil gusher could cost BP in liabilities, and further attempts to shut off the gusher, are already reaching $12 billion.

The Guardian reports BP has already been hit with more than 30,000 claims for compensation :

....mostly from businesses in the US states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, which involve loss of earnings or bereavement suffered by families of the 11 workers killed when the rig caught fire.

BP vice president of deepwater developments David Eyten, in 2005 :

“IF we’ve learned anything so far about the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, it is that it contains surprises. And that means an operator needs depth — depth in terms of resources and expertise — to create the capability to respond to the unexpected. ”

And yet, even though it was his job, BP didn't "create the capability" needed to even get close to dealing with the oil gusher now threatening, and already destroying, hundreds of kilometres of American coastline, killing birds, dolphins, turtles, marshlands and tens of thousands of American jobs.

BP began a deepwater drilling operation knowing they would not be able to adequately deal with a massive spill more than 5000 feet down in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

BP has purposely underestimated the size of the oil gusher, or gushers (some oil industry experts claim there is another gusher a few miles away from the main site), for weeks, fearing, and trying to delay, what is now happening to their share price.

The New York Times :

As BP struggled last week to stanch the flow of spewing oil at the Deepwater Horizon rig, it has become clear that the pressure to dig deeper and faster from what Mr. Eyton then called a “frontier province” of oil exploration has in some ways outpaced the knowledge about how to do that safely. (And there is still the question of whether BP used all the tools and safety mechanisms available.)

Americans have long had an unswerving belief that technology will save us — it is the cavalry coming over the hill, just as we are about to lose the battle. And yet, as Americans watched scientists struggle to plug the undersea well over the past month, it became apparent that our great belief in technology was perhaps misplaced.

“Americans have a lot of faith that over the long run technology will solve everything, a sense that somehow we’re going to find a way to fix it,” said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Henry Rollins :

As thousands of gallons of crude oil spew out from the ocean floor, there seem to be two sets of facts, both of them bad. There’s the set that British Petroleum gives us and then there’s the other set that occurs to you when you do the math, look at the oil-covered birds, consider ocean currents, hurricanes, the fragility of any aquatic ecosystem, and the true horror of what the short- and long-term effects will be. The more you think about it, the worse it gets. You don’t need to be a scientist or scholar to get your head around what this oil spill will mean for the planet.

....I don’t know how much worse it has to get. Oh wait, it got that worse since I started writing this sentence. This is the only planet you will ever live on.

From The Boston Globe's The Big Picture :


Oil covered dragonfly, cropped from a photo by Gerald Herbert


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Call It What It Is : Foxoganda

For the United States - after 5000 lives lost, 50,000 + seriously wounded and more than $1 trillion spent - the Iraq Was is over, so Fox News celebrates by censoring the applause of American soldiers when President Obama discusses the end of the war at West Point Military Academy :



Could that pause have been anymore obvious?

You can compare the Fox News silencing of American military to this uncensored version of the Obama address at West Point, with plenty of applause.

The New Republic takes note of the changing tone of The Weekly Standard, the NeoCons' propaganda central, towards Obama in the wake of his victory in establishing his health care priorities. With more legislative victories on the horizon.

Last August, was a cartoon joke :



Not anymore, now The Weekly Standard portrays President Obama as a looming, threatening overseer.



The Full Story Is Here

From the White House photo of the day for May 7, West Wing image makers shoot for an 'Obama In Charge' public perception shift :

President Obama manages to get off a whole bunch of great lines, mostly written for him by staffers of the Daily Show, at the White House Correspondents Dinner :



Though Obama's jokes about using Predator drones to protect his daughters from aspiring boyfriends - "you won't even hear them coming" - won't seem so funny a few years from now, when air strikes in the US by flying killer robots have become a reality, at least along the United States' borders with Mexico.

Obama Promises "No More Taxpayer Bailouts" For Banks & Financial Institutions That Claim To Be "Too Big To Fail"

"We Will Hold Wall Street Accountable"

President Obama promised he would reform Wall Street, and now he's set to move in hard, and fast. His plans are upsetting both Democrats and Republicans. It will be fascinating to see how this unfolds, and just how much of what he is promising, he can actually deliver. Luckily for him, Obama doesn't get around in light aircraft.



The reaction of Fox News will be predictable enough. But take the time to check out how the rest of the mainstream corporate media deals with this. He's about to make himself a whole tidal wave of new enemies.

Transcript :

There were many causes of the turmoil that ripped through our economy over the past two years. But above all, this crisis was caused by failures in the financial industry. What is clear is that this crisis could have been avoided if Wall Street firms were more accountable, if financial dealings were more transparent, and if consumers and shareholders were given more information and authority to make decisions.

But that did not happen. And that's because special interests have waged a relentless campaign to thwart even basic, common-sense rules - rules to prevent abuse and protect consumers. In fact, the financial industry and its powerful lobby have opposed modest safeguards against the kinds of reckless risks and bad practices that led to this very crisis.

The consequences of this failure of responsibility - from Wall Street to Washington - are all around us: 8 million jobs lost, trillions in savings erased, countless dreams diminished or denied. I believe we have to do everything we can to ensure that no crisis like this ever happens again. That's why I'm fighting so hard to pass a set of Wall Street reforms and consumer protections. A plan for reform is currently moving through Congress.

Here's what this plan would do. First, it would enact the strongest consumer financial protections ever. It would put consumers back in the driver's seat by forcing big banks and credit card companies to provide clear, understandable information so that Americans can make financial decisions that work best for them.

Next, these reforms would bring new transparency to financial dealings. Part of what led to this crisis was firms like AIG and others making huge and risky bets - using things like derivatives - without accountability. Warren Buffett himself once described derivatives bought and sold with little oversight as "financial weapons of mass destruction." That's why through reform we'd help ensure that these kinds of complicated financial transactions take place on an open market. Because, ultimately, it is a marketplace that is open, free, and fair that will allow our economy to flourish.

We would also close loopholes to stop the kind of recklessness and irresponsibility we've seen. It's these loopholes that allowed executives to take risks that not only endangered their companies, but also our entire economy. And we're going to put in place new rules so that big banks and financial institutions will pay for the bad decisions they make - not taxpayers. Simply put, this means no more taxpayer bailouts. Never again will taxpayers be on the hook because a financial company is deemed "too big to fail."

Finally, these reforms hold Wall Street accountable by giving shareholders new power in the financial system. They'll get a say on pay: a vote on the salaries and bonuses awarded to top executives. And the SEC will ensure that shareholders have more power in corporate elections, so that investors and pension holders have a stronger voice in determining what happens with their life savings.

Now, unsurprisingly, these reforms have not exactly been welcomed by the people who profit from the status quo - as well their allies in Washington. This is probably why the special interests have spent a lot of time and money lobbying to kill or weaken the bill. Just the other day, in fact, the Leader of the Senate Republicans and the Chair of the Republican Senate campaign committee met with two dozen top Wall Street executives to talk about how to block progress on this issue.

Lo and behold, when he returned to Washington, the Senate Republican Leader came out against the common-sense reforms we've proposed. In doing so, he made the cynical and deceptive assertion that reform would somehow enable future bailouts - when he knows that it would do just the opposite. Every day we don't act, the same system that led to bailouts remains in place - with the exact same loopholes and the exact same liabilities. And if we don't change what led to the crisis, we'll doom ourselves to repeat it. That's the truth. Opposing reform will leave taxpayers on the hook if a crisis like this ever happens again.

So my hope is that we can put this kind of politics aside. My hope is that Democrats and Republicans can find common ground and move forward together. But this is certain: one way or another, we will move forward. This issue is too important. The costs of inaction are too great. We will hold Wall Street accountable. We will protect and empower consumers in our financial system. That's what reform is all about. That's what we're fighting for. And that's exactly what we're going to achieve.

You thought Obama's health reforms were a down and dirty shitfight?

You ain't seen nothing yet.

The Drudge Report mere moments after Fox News led a news bulletin with the exact same list of Fox News staffers and regular guests whining about President Obama :




Imagine Fox News & F(r)iends' reaction if an American president took an extended holiday soon after he'd been alerted that terrorists were about to strike the US and then started tragic, expensive "This Crusade Will Tkae A While" wars against Iraq and Afghanistan or something?

Why Israel Should Thank Obama

Gideon Levy argues that US President Obama's fading patience with Israel, and his intolerance of ever-expanding settlements and frustration at further dodges of peace-talk commitments, is exactly how a true friend should be acting :

Obama is asking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and through him every Israeli, to finally speak the truth. He's asking Netanyahu and the rest of us: What on earth do you actually want? Enough with the misleading answers; the moment of truth is here. Enough with the tricks - a neighborhood here, a settlement expansion there. Just tell us: Where are you heading? Do you want to go on receiving unprecedented aid from the United States, do you want to become part of the Middle East, do you want to achieve peace?

Obama, faithful for the time being to the great promise he made when he was elected, is no longer willing to put up with the deceit.

The Israelis should be thankful to Obama for holding a mirror in front of them and saying that this is how your continuous deception looks. The Israelis should be just as thankful to Obama for being the first president ready to make Israel pay for its responsibility in maintaining the status quo. This is an American innovation supported by a shifting mood in world politics.

Take heed: The world is beginning to demand that Israel take responsibility for its actions in Dubai and Sheikh Jarrah, in Operation Cast Lead and Ramat Shlomo. From America and Europe, the time of responsibility and payback has arrived.

After 43 years of a vicious occupation, these, too, are minimal demands. Obama didn't humiliate Israel. Israel humiliated itself for a generation, thinking it could do whatever it wanted - talk peace and build settlements, entrench an occupation and still be considered a democracy, while living on American support and rejecting its requests. Since all of Obama's demands should have come from Israel itself, Obama is merely acting the way a friend should act.

The Full Story Is Here

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President Barack Obama's signature in December 2009 :

President Obama's signature on the new health care bill :

White House official photographer Pete Souza continues turning out magnificent work :




And a screen grab from a recent White House Photo Of The Day page :



There's an excellent collection of DeSouza photos chronicling the Obama family's first year in the White House here.

Fox News Poll : Obama's Leadership Puts Him At The Top Of The Class

Fox News polls its audience on how President Barack Obama performed during his first year in the White House. More than 473,000 had voted when I did this screen capture :



I saw it on Fox News. It must be true.

This result will unlikely be reflected in how Fox News covers the second year of Obama's presidency.



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Obama Takes On Roomful Of Republicans In Q & A, Carves Them All Up





The Transcript Is Here

No wonder they hate President Obama so much. He's got a very, very big mouth :

"The Government Accountability Office, the GAO, has looked into 96 major defense projects from the last year, and found cost overruns that totaled $296 billion....indefensible, no-bid contracts that cost taxpayers billions and make contractors rich; special interests and their exotic projects that are years behind schedule and billions over budget; entrenched lobbyists pushing weapons that even our military says it doesn't want and doesn't need -- the impulse in Washington to win political points back home by building things that we don't need at costs we can't afford. This waste would be unacceptable at any time, but at a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, it's inexcusable. It's unconscionable. It's an affront to the American people and to our troops, and it has to stop.

"...no longer will we be spending nearly $2 billion to buy more F-22 fighter jets that the Pentagon says they don't need. This bill also terminates troubled and massively over budget programs such as the Future Combat Systems, the Airborne Lasers, the Combat Search and Rescue helicopter, and a new presidential helicopter that costs nearly as much as Air Force One. I won't be flying on that."

All the details below are taken from official White House media-distributed photography.






DeNiro, Springsteen, Obama :



No-one can accuse Obama of blowing money on new phones for the White House. Look at this ancient beast of a thing sitting on his Oval Office desk.



Obama flag pin worn on lapels of White House doormen :




I can't find a clearer image of the pin online.

Obama's signature :




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Obama And The Bankers



By Darryl Mason

President Obama sat down with 12 cashed-up-from-the-taxpayers-pocket members of the American banking and financial industry. He told them, in short, to shape up, get their money back out there and spread around the wealth :

So my main message in today's meeting was very simple: that America's banks received extraordinary assistance from American taxpayers to rebuild their industry -- and now that they're back on their feet, we expect an extraordinary commitment from them to help rebuild our economy.

And I made very clear that I have no intention of letting their lobbyists thwart reforms necessary to protect the American people. If they wish to fight common-sense consumer protections, that's a fight I'm more than willing to have.

The way I see it, having recovered with the help of the American government and the American taxpayers, our banks now have a greater obligation to the goal of a wider recovery, a more stable system, and more broadly shared prosperity.

Obama needs to go into those meetings with a baseball bat by his side.

Let's take a closer look at those faces :









No, not a lot of laughs in that room.

I take that as a good sign.


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Robert Fisk : Obama "Worse Than Bush For The Middle East. At Least With Bush You Knew Where You Stood"

He speaks the truth :



Unless Obama's War On Terror really is a White House/Pentagon insider war against the CIA and its Al Qaeda agents and religious terrorist networks across the Midddle East. It will be decades before we learn most of the truth of what has been going on there. And as history often proves, some of the more bizarre conspiracy theories that spread during war-time can be based in fact, even if bundled with distortions and misinformation.

It is interesting indeed that neither Obama nor Defence Secretary Robert Gates mentions the name "Osama Bin Laden." Ever.

DisUnited States Of Cannabis

70% Of American Conservatives Want To Stop People Legally Consuming Cannabis In The Privacy Of Their Own Homes


"George Washington understood, and so do I"

Raw Story mulls the latest poll results on Americans and cannabis legalisation :

New data from U.S. polling firm Gallup shows nearly half of Americans -- a record number -- are in support of legalizing and taxing marijuana for recreational use by adults.

The poll clearly illustrates a generational and political divide on the issue, with 78 percent of self-described liberals saying they would like to see the drug legalized and 72 percent of self-described conservatives being opposed. Gallup also found that 50 percent of Americans under 50-years-old are in favor of legalization, but just 28 percent of seniors agree.

Perhaps the most important demographic to advocates of legalization are the moderate voters, among whom 51 percent now support ending prohibition.

"Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington," the Associated Press reported on Monday.

Another of the poll's revelations is that among self-described Democrats, a majority in favor of legalization has emerged, with 54 percent supporting such a move and 45 percent opposed. Among self-described Republicans, the question is not even a contest: 28 percent are in favor, while 70 percent are opposed.

More On President Obama's Dramatic Changes To Federal Cannabis Laws :

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.

"This is a major step forward," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "This change in policy moves the federal government dramatically toward respecting scientific and practical reality."

The six decades long prohibition on cannabis in the United States is coming to an end.

The pharmaceutical corporations will not be happy, as they begin to market their synthetic THC drugs, and their thousands of lobbyists in Washington DC are pushing hard to get these changes wound back.

In a true free market, where Americans can grow their own medicinal cannabis, legal pharmaceutical drug pushers will be finding less and less customers.

Expect a hardcore 'Cannabis Is Destroying You & America' TV and internet ad campaign to begin any week now.