Michelle's Family Vacation in Africa

Actually this is a very simple and pleasant welcoming ceremony in Botswana. It reminded me of one of the greatest movie scenes ever in the classic film, Zulu. Enjoy both on full screen.

Michelle Obama, Fit to be First Lady of Cameroon.

It is a beyond cliche to note that one of the sad characteristics of most African leaders is a flaunting display of opulence. The opulence is conversely proportional to poverty and always makes an ugly comparison. Michelle Obama would make a fine and foxy first Lady of Cameroon. She would fit the role as perfectly as she fits her growing inventory of multi-thousand dollar dresses.

I found this little article from Ouest France which highlights a French visit by the president of Cameroon to France in 2009:

Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, paid an official visit to France on July 24 to meet with Nicolas Sarkozy. He then extended his stay at La Baule (on the Atlantic Coast). Today (August 28) he received the medal of the city from the hands of its mayor, Yves Métaireau (photo above). "This is a friend that we welcome" declared the mayor, who was careful not to comment on human rights or on the politics of Cameroon.

During the reception given in his honor, Paul Biya expressed his satisfaction with the trip: "This is the third time we have been to La Baule. We are very fond of it and we will certainly come back."

He then went over his meeting last month with the French president: "It was a success in every way. I respect France for her ability to distinguish herself on questions of democracy, peace, and the development of poor countries. In this climate of crisis, it is necessary for industrialized nations to strengthen international solidarity."

While France reaffirmed her promise of financial aid to Cameroon and confirmed (the 2006) payment of 537 million euro, over a five year period, to help the country get out of debt and to foster development, Paul Biya and his wife enjoy the good life in La Baule.

For two weeks they have been residing at the Royal and Hermitage Hotels, where they have rented 43 rooms at 42,000 euro a night, with thalasso, casino and shopping sprees. Their expenses total in the millions. They are scheduled to return home in early September.

Does it have more than a whiff of familiarity?


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Politics Daily

Michelle Obama's Lavish Spain Vacation Sparking Criticism
1 day ago

While first lady Michelle Obama continues sightseeing and shopping in southern Spain with her daughter Sasha and friends as "private" tourists, questions are being raised about the cost to taxpayers and whether a lavish vacation sends the right message during tough economic times in the United States.

Mrs. Obama also has a "public" part of the vacation, but it's hardly heavy lifting and without any formal agenda. On Sunday, Mrs. Obama and 9-year-old Sasha will have lunch with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia at their summer palace on the island of Majorca.

This trip is sparking the first controversy Mrs. Obama has faced since becoming first lady. While Mrs. Obama covers her personal expenses, taxpayers pay for security and support staffers, plus most costs associated with her Air Force plane.

CBS News has run two stories -- on its Thursday evening newscast and on Friday morning -- examining the public costs of Mrs. Obama's travels. ABC did a piece Friday morning about Mrs. Obama and Sasha buying matching sundresses, the ritzy resort they visited and the heavy coverage of the visit by Spanish media. NBC ran a story about the trip as well, and more network coverage is in the works.

Contributing to the developing narrative: a column by Andrea Tantaros in the Thursday New York Daily News headlined, "Material girl Michelle Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation."

"It is very difficult to lead a private life when you are a public figure," Anita McBride, the chief of staff for former first lady Laura Bush, told me. "No one would deny an official the need for a vacation. But the more expensive or lavish the trip, the greater the risk of criticism."

The first lady arrived in the Mediterranean coastal city of Marbella on Wednesday, checking in to the super-posh Villa Padierna, along with her daughter, friends, a small number of staffers -- the East Wing would not say how many -- and a security force. (The Obama's older daughter, Malia, 12, is at overnight camp.)

On Thursday, Mrs. Obama's entourage arrived in the historic city of Granada, also in southern Spain. According to a story in El Pais, before visiting the landmark cathedral in the city, Mrs. Obama's group stopped for ice cream, and didn't mind people snapping pictures on their cell phones. The day also included viewing a flamenco performance and in the evening a visit to the Alhambra palace.

When the trip was first announced, it was billed as "private mother-daughter trip with longtime family friends." On Wednesday in Politics Daily, I wrote that Mrs. Obama may well take some criticism for the Spain vacation. While first ladies always stay at high-class hotels -- security is a big part of the reason -- a five-star resort on Spain's coast creates a potential perception problem. The U.S. jobless rate is still high -- 9.5 percent on Friday. And while Mrs. Obama and President Obama have tried to encourage tourism in Gulf Coast areas not impacted by the BP oil spill, she is highlighting the beauty of Spain's Mediterranean beaches before the first family travels to Florida's Gulf Coast on Aug. 14 for a weekend stay.

During the Wednesday afternoon briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about the "appearance" of Mrs. Obama's trip. "The first lady is on a private trip," Gibbs said. "She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. And I think I'd leave it at that."

While the White House has emphasized that Mrs. Obama pays her personal costs, as do her friends who flew to Spain on their own, taxpayers pick up a big chunk of the tab.

According to CBS News, the tax dollar part of the vacation include an estimated $146,000 round-trip cost for the U.S. Air Force 757 aircraft, not counting ground time; about $95,000 in hotel costs for an estimated 70 security personnel -- Secret Service and military -- who get a $273-a-day government per diem, plus costs for the dozen or so cars in her motorcade. I'm told that three shifts of agents are needed for a trip of this magnitude.

While the trip may not be "politically smart," said Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus on CBS, "it was not a let them eat cake moment."

The East Wing argues that Mrs. Obama is a private citizen, not an elected official, and she wants to focus on her friends and family. While taking August off, she plans to ramp up her schedule after Labor Day. I'm also told the East Wing is not going to react to these stories about Mrs. Obama's travels.

From Spain, Mrs. Obama did keep tabs on the Senate's passage of child nutrition legislation. On Thursday night, the East Wing told me, she called four senators who played a role in passing a bill that is central to her signature issue of reducing child obesity: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.); Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).

I don't think anyone is begrudging Mrs. Obama vacations or sharing with her kids and pals some incredible opportunities she has from her unique perch to see the world. Some of this just has to do with the scale of a trip without some official substance.

While former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled with Chelsea and former first lady Laura Bush took Barbara and Jenna with her on trips, the overseas travel was in connection with "official" business that was more than lunch with royalty at their summer palace. And it's not like Mrs. Obama is lacking a diplomatic agenda. Her April visit to Mexico City was the kick off of her "international agenda" with a focus on developing youth leadership.

Mrs. Bush's true personal trips were hiking vacations in national parks with female pals.

Politics Daily readers who weighed in after my Wednesday piece summed up Mrs. Obama's situation.

"redrage727" wrote, "A little restraint would be appropriate in these tough economic times. It would mean a lot to the American people who pay for all these vacations and outings and would go a long way towards better relations with the people of the U.S. "

Replied "melonart," "I believe I detect a bit of envy and jealously in the comments I am reading. I am of the opinion that a public person can't win regardless of his or her choices in their private life..they are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't. Let a mother show her daughter a bit of the world."

Michelle, the Constant Victim, Preaching Revolution in Mexico

Our Belle Michelle starts warming up at around the 15 minute mark.

Why is Michelle Obama in Mexico talking to Mexican students about the need for US immigration reform? What is the concern and need for US citizens to change our immigration policy to satisy left wing Mexican students?

Why is the so-called first lady challenging Mexican students to take up the collectivist call?

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Wrapping up her first solo foreign trip, first lady Michelle Obama said in Mexico that changes to the immigration system are necessary, but will be politically difficult.

"It's not enough that the president wants it," Mrs. Obama told CNN in an interview. "We need Republicans and Democrats to support it, as well."

President Obama will continue pushing for major changes to the immigration system because the current one is creating problems on both sides of the border.

"We're seeing young children who are trying to cross the border just to reconnect with their parents, and their lives are in danger," Mrs. Obama said. "They're put in precarious situations. And a strong immigration reform policy would help alleviate some of those challenges."

USA Today

Michelle, First Victim, making you cringe for your country.

After a few days I thought I would replay Michelle Obama's speech to the IOC to see if it was as bad as I thought. It isn't. It's worse.

While the Michelle and Barack dazzle the press, 2 million lose jobs and one million lose their home.

"There's some who, despite all evidence to the contrary, still don't believe in the necessity and promise of this recovery act," he said. "Tell that to the Americans who received that unexpected call saying to come back to work."

Now that is compassion with change.

Obama's polling numbers are artificially held up by the world's largest Public Relations firm ever, the consolidated, amalgamated idolatrous US press.

I knew we were in the valley of deep dung when Baracko Boy took his shark skin suit for the first strut through Air Force One. "It's pretty nice," he told House Democrats in an after-dinner speech during the first days uptown. Sures beats shucking the Chrysler 300 in Chi.

"Hey man what's the sco?"

Well not too good, thanks for asking. $787 large spent and no one is counting. BO says, "good news" that it only took $135 billion obligated so far and that has saved or created "at least 150,000 jobs." Maybe.

I been looking at the man's face lately. It aint too good. Up tight and taut. This may be a short performance.

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Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Obama to hurry recovery effort amid rising doubt

Jon Ward Washington Time

President Obama on Monday pushed to reinvigorate his $787 billion economic-stimulus program, promising to accelerate efforts to get money out the door, while dealing with critics who said some of his claims to create or preserve jobs have been exaggerated.

Mr. Obama said he was "not satisfied" with the results of the stimulus program so far, though he highlighted some of the achievements he said were the result of the massive spending bill, which he signed into law in mid-February.

He said it was "good news" that $135 billion obligated so far has saved or created "at least 150,000 jobs."

But with about 2 million jobs disappearing since the bill was enacted, White House officials conceded that their estimates of jobs "saved or created" were at best only blunting the pace of overall losses.

"Less bad is not good enough," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

A national poll released Monday showed that the public was losing confidence in Mr. Obama's handling of the economy. But the White House denied that Mr. Obama's effort to speed up the stimulus spending was a response to either growing anxiety about the program or its lackluster early performance.

Approval of Mr. Obama's handling of the economy has dropped from 59 percent in February to 55 percent, the USA Today-Gallup poll showed. More significantly, disapproval on the issue has gone up 12 percentage points to 42 percent.

The president, however, remains more popular than either of his two immediate predecessors at this point in his presidency, with a 67 percent overall approval rating.

Still, critics accused the White House with playing with numbers to make the stimulus appear more effective than it's been.

"The Obama administration is continuing to fabricate job-creation projections related to the stimulus," said Tony Fratto, a former George W. Bush administration official.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics - the only government agency counting jobs - cannot tell you how many Americans are working today. They cannot tell you how many Americans were working a month ago. And they cannot even tell you how many Americans, within 50,000, were at work when the stimulus was passed by Congress," Mr. Fratto said. "Without that information, there is no credible estimate for jobs 'created or saved.' "

Keith Hall, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, told Congress last week that it is "a very difficult thing for anybody to substantiate" the Obama administration's projections of jobs "saved or created."

Jared Bernstein, an adviser to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., called the Obama's team measurement "an estimate of how many jobs you believe you created."

The president's event at the White House on Monday, as he pivoted back to domestic policy after a trip to the Middle East and Europe, was intended to highlight "10 new major projects that will define the next three months," the White House said.

The projects include work at 107 national parks, 98 airports and 1,500 highway locations, and hiring or retaining 5,000 police officers - work designed to save or create 600,000 jobs. Mr. Obama said that all those jobs will be created or retained "over the next 100 days."

But 125,000 of those jobs - nearly 25 percent - are summer positions for youth, not full-time permanent employment, according to the White House.

Mr. Obama pledged in February that, all told, the stimulus package would save between 3 million and 4 million jobs.

Mr. Bernstein defended the administration's formula for its job numbers.

"This is an absolute, tried-and-true economic methodology," he said during a briefing with reporters at the White House. "There is simply no other way to make this kind of estimate."

But Republicans and conservative groups hammered the president, sensing a political opening.

"Today's announcement is an acknowledgment that the Democrats' trillion-dollar stimulus is not working, and the American people know it," said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.

The White House said its calculations project that every $92,000 of government spending creates one "job-year."

A May 11 report states that about two-thirds of that "job-year" is a direct or indirect benefit, such as a state worker being retained and not fired because of federal dollars being disbursed to state governments.

About one-third of each "job-year" is an "induced effect," the White House said, where tax cuts for consumers can create demand for products and allow businesses to hire or retain employees because of that demand.

Republicans pointed to the White House prediction in January that the unemployment rate would stay about 8 percent if Congress passed the stimulus package. The unemployment rate has risen to 9.4 percent.

Mr. Bernstein said that in January they had not yet learned of a massive 6 percent contraction in gross domestic product during the fourth quarter of 2008.

"At the time, our forecast seemed reasonable. Now, looking back, it was clearly too optimistic," he said.

The White House also faces questions over whether the massive spending program is still needed to stimulate an economy that administration analysts say is already beginning to show signs of recovery. Other analysts, however, warn that the stock market's recent gains may be a "bear rally," signaling another downturn ahead.

Some Republican lawmakers say they want to stop all $787 billion from being spent if the economy is on the mend, using the money instead to reduce federal debt and deficit levels.

The national debt is more than $11 trillion, and the deficit for the current fiscal year is projected by the Congressional Budget Office to be almost $1 trillion. The country's debtors are increasingly anxious about the ability of the U.S. government to pay its debt with interest, and bond buyers have been driving up yields on long-term notes, making it more expensive for the Treasury to raise money.

Meeting with his Cabinet, the president on Monday gave a mixed review of the economy so far, stating that May job losses of 345,000 announced Friday were not as bad as expected but "still far too many." He also said that the United States is "still in the middle of a very deep recession, which is going to take a considerable amount of time to pull out of."

It was a different message from the one Mr. Obama offered at the end of May, when he cited the stock market's stabilization and other indicators as evidence that the economy had "stepped back from the brink."

Mr. Obama hit back at his critics Monday.

"There's some who, despite all evidence to the contrary, still don't believe in the necessity and promise of this recovery act," he said. "Tell that to the Americans who received that unexpected call saying to come back to work."

Am I alone in finding Obama increasingly to be something of a bore?

Barack Obama really does go on a bit
Posted By: Iain Martin at Apr 5, 2009 at 18:26:40
Telegraph

Isn't it time for him to go home yet? It is good, in theory, that the new President of the United States is taking so much time to tour Europe. He arrived in London last Tuesday, has been to Strasbourg, Prague yesterday and now he's off to Turkey. It shows, I suppose, that he cares about the outside world and that is 'A Good Thing'. But his long stay means that we are hearing rather a lot from him, way too much in fact.

His speeches have long under-delivered, usually leaving a faintly empty sensation in this listener even though I welcomed, moderately, his victory last year as offering the possibility of a fresh start and a boost to confidence.

Yet, we are told that he is a great orator and in one way he certainly is. He does have a preternatural calm in the spotlight and a mastery of the cadences we associate with the notable speakers in US history - such as JFK and MLK. But beyond that, am I alone in finding him increasingly to be something of a bore?

His performance at the first press conference in London with Gordon Brown featured moments in which he sparkled - his riff on loving the Queen was a high-point. But most of the serious answers that I listened to were interminable, windy and not very impressive. At points there were pauses so long that it appeared he had simply lost his train of thought.

Today, we were treated to another set-piece Obama speech, and my didn't he go on a bit? The crowd in Prague was huge, and initially wildly enthusiastic, but what he served up was not any more impressive than his damp squib in Berlin last year. Is there a computer which churns this stuff out for him?

"For over a thousand years, Prague has set itself apart from any other city in any other place. You have known war and peace. You have seen empires rise and fall. You have led revolutions in the arts and science, in politics and poetry. Through it all, the people of Prague have insisted on pursuing their own path, and defining their own destiny. And this city - this Golden City which is both ancient and youthful - stands as a living monument to your unconquerable spirit."

Empires rising and falling, destinies being defined and a Golden City standing as a monument to unconquerable spirit... goodness, what a ham. When he really gets going he's worse than Tony Blair.

But Obama was only warming up. "When I was born," (Everything usually leads back to him, you'll notice)... "the world was divided, and our nations were faced with very different circumstances. Few people would have predicted that someone like me would one day become an American President." (Him again)...

"Few people would have predicted that an American President would one day be permitted to speak to an audience like this in Prague. And few would have imagined that the Czech Republic would become a free nation, a member of NATO, and a leader of a united Europe. Those ideas would have been dismissed as dreams". (Not by Ronald Reagan they wouldn't have been, when most of Obama's Democrat friends thought the then US President's robust approach to the Cold War made him a loony on the loose).

"We are here today because enough people ignored the voices who told them that the world could not change. We are here today because of the courage of those who stood up - and took risks - to say that freedom is a right for all people, no matter what side of a wall they live on, and no matter what they look like... (subtly this time, but right at the end the sentence leads back to him again).

The Obamas have handled their trip well and in their public appearances have been a credit to their country. But I'll wager that within a year or so he'll be marked down as a wind-bag.

"Just how far we have come as a country"

We have come far alright. The culture war is entering the surge phase and the rout is almost complete. Listen to the tone and tenor and the anger. Revenge and change is on the way. Determination by the left and the tireless application of whatever it takes for the cause. God bless America.

Meet Michelle Obama at Villanova University (Real Video)

Click Here to meet Michelle Obama at Villanova You may want to go ahead to the 15-20 minute mark where she gets on a roll with her Left Wing agenda.

Here to Download Real Network Free Software

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Michelle Obama thesis was on racial divide
By: Jeffrey Ressner Politico
Feb 22, 2008 04:20 PM EST
Updated: February 23, 2008 09:51 AM EST


Michelle Obama's senior thesis at Princeton University shows a young woman grappling with race and society.

Michelle Obama's senior year thesis at Princeton University, obtained from the campaign by Politico, shows a document written by a young woman grappling with a society in which a black Princeton alumnus might only be allowed to remain "on the periphery." Read the full thesis here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

"My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my 'blackness' than ever before," the future Mrs. Obama wrote in her thesis introduction. "I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong. Regardless of the circumstances underwhich I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be black first and a student second."

The thesis, titled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community" and written under her maiden name, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, in 1985, has been the subject of much conjecture on the blogosphere and elsewhere in recent weeks, as it has been "temporarily withdrawn" from Princeton's library until after this year's presidential election in November. Some of the material has been written about previously, however, including a story last year in the Newark Star Ledger.

Obama writes that the path she chose by attending Princeton would likely lead to her "further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant."

During a presidential contest in which the term "transparency" has been frequently bandied about, candidates have buried a number of potentially revealing documents and papers. In Hillary Rodham Clinton's case, there's been a clamoring for tax records, White House memos and other material the candidate's team has chosen to keep from release. The 96-page Princeton thesis, restricted from release by the school's Mudd Library, has also been the subject of recent scrutiny.

Earlier this week, commentator Jonah Goldberg remarked on National Review Online, "A reader in the know informs me that Michelle Obama's thesis ... is unavailable until Nov. 5, 2008, at the Princeton library. I wonder why."

"Why a restricted thesis?" asked blogger-pastor Louis Lapides on his site Thinking Outside the Blog. "Is the concern based on what's in the thesis? Will Michelle Obama appear to be too black for white America or not black enough for black America?"

Attempts to retrieve the document through Princeton proved unsuccessful, with school librarians having been pestered so much for access to the thesis that they have resorted to reading from a script when callers inquire about it. Media officers at the prestigious university were similarly unhelpful, claiming it is "not unusual" for a thesis to be restricted and refusing to discuss "the academic work of alumni."