@petesouza: Pres Obama w young girl during an event at the US Embassy in The Netherlands today
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All times local:
9:15 AM: The President met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan
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9:55 AM: Arrived at the World Forum at The Hague to participate in the Nuclear Security Summit
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10:0 AM: Attended the leaders-only plenary session
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Joint Statement by the United States and #Ukraine: http://t.co/ONXLN4ZbDT
— @NSCPress (@NSCPress) March 25, 2025
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@PeteSouza: Pres Obama talks on phone to Washington Gov Jay Inslee about mudslide in Oso. Alyssa Mastromonaco is in foreground
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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte hands over a symbolic stick to President Obama at the closing session of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit
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12:15 PM: Joined Nuclear Summit leaders for a family photo
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1:0 PM: Participated in a working lunch with plenary discussion
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2:30 PM: Attended the third plenary discussion
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4:0 PM: Held a joint press conference with Prime Minister Rutte
Text of remarks here
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5:0 PM: Held a bilateral meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
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6:30 PM: Held a trilateral meeting with President Park Geun-Hye of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan
President Obama with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, left, at the start of their trilateral meeting at the US Ambassador’s Residence in the Hague
Prez Obama scores big today getting South Korea Pres Park & Japan PM Abe to actually speak together today at joint forum in Netherlands
— Steve Clemons (@SCClemons) March 25, 2025
Text of remarks here
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7:40 PM: Met and greeted Embassy personnel
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8:35 PM: Departed The Netherlands en route Brussels, Belgium
Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam
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9:15 PM: Arrived Brussels, Belgium
President Obama is welcomed by Belgium’s King Philippe (C) and Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo (L) upon his arrival at Brussels Airport
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White House.gov
Congrats, Bobfr!
Congratssssssssssssss….TwitterMeister!
Bob! And Prettyfoooooooot!
:-D
TY, Allison, Chips and pf58 (we’re tied :) )
BTW, all of you should be twitting Google and Wikipedia demanding that they reject any effort by Russia to represent Crimea as part of Russia.
YES WE MUST
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Congrats on 1st Mr. Bobfr! wtg
Happy Tuesday Evening!
!st!
Hi Chips, hi all!
good evening folks. a busy president today.
Wooooot!..
Not only is this pragmatic, for all the obvious reasons, but it’s a very clever political trap for Republicans. They’ll scream, for sure. But, the moment they do the response can do even more damage to them than they’ve already got in store.
The response is really simple - ‘you Republicans have done everything possible to deny Americans access to affordable health care and you’re even willing to prevent folk who want it from being able to complete the application process.’
Please proceed, in_deed, GOP ….
Iike closing the polls early in 2000, and we are still cleaning up the mess that caused.
This will drive the HEARTLESS repukes up the wall, “BAT S____ CRAZY” for sure. New talking point by the crazy media coming in waves.
Oh noes! the GOP made sure Medicaid expansion in MI started on April 1, AFTER THE MARCH 31ST DEADLINE. LOL
Checkmate.
aaahhhhhh; sounds like the good ol boys bit off their noses to spite their faces, and will have to chew on it for dessert.
And they wonder why we love our President?
Good evening Chipsticks! Hi ya Dannyboy!
Happy Tuesday to you…..THANK YOU for the GORGEOUS pictures!
all in a day’s work
The Japanese and South Korean leaders have held their first official meeting following a rift over Japan’s stance on its wartime aggression in Asia.
US President Barack Obama brought Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Park Geun-hye together at the nuclear summit in The Hague.
The United States has been trying to ease tension between its two allies.
Mr Obama pledged his “unwavering commitment” to them in the face of North Korea’s nuclear programme.
…
“Close co-ordination between our three countries has succeeded in changing the game with North Korea,” Mr Obama said.
“Our trilateral co-operation has sent a strong signal to Pyongyang that its provocations and threats will be met with a unified response.”
President Park had refused to meet Mr Abe over allegations that he is trying to whitewash Japanese war crimes.
“We consider this meeting the first step in future co-operation between Japan and South Korea,” said Mr Abe after arriving in The Hague.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26739072
Another U.S. media whitewash……..not only did PBO secure all of Japan’s nuclear disposal responsibilities, but this is the first time any leader of Japan or South Korea has spoken face to face in 2 years!!! http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/world/asia/a-growing-chill-between-south-korea-and-japan-creates-problems-for-the-us.html
Wow, that’s amazing LP, I had no clue relations between S Korea and Japan were that bad
They have been terrible Chips. All of this while Japan & China fight over islands and sink fishing ships….. it has gotten ugly…. hopefully President Obama mediating will create a thaw. We will have a better understanding of the state of play when PBO visits the region in April for ASEAN I believe.
WOW…and I NEVER saw any of this reported in the media. The US media probably didn’t even understand what just happened…
I’m home. I’m having a Manhattan. That’s my story.
Yeah Sir.
>-I
Also. Too. Go man c.
Also. Too. Beep off.
sigh … big picture, missy, big picture ???
two more games left for man c to go over unohoo?
man u fans / smh #clueless
Huh, only picture I’m looking at it is one of a nightmarish season. Don’t care who wins title, so long as it’s not Liverpool. Now that would ruin my entire life.
Go liverpool.
Bayern Munich were crowned champions of Germany for a 24th time with a record seven games to spare.
And they meet some unknown club in CL QF next week. Good luck, unknown club. And good bye.
May the bed bugs bite.
Oh no. This is wrong.
Anybody here, seen my old friend Ezra…can you tell me where he’s gone? Paging Ezra Klein…
He moved on hopefruit2 - truth trumped his imagination.
He’s sitting behind the woodshed, with a sock in his mouth!!
hahhahahahahaha
Folks still do not understand….the ACA is dictates the process by which one can attain healthcare…thru either State or Federal exchanges….unless you are signing up for Medicaid expansion….the insurance plans are private companies…..
Thanks to MTMarilyn who alerted me that upChuck Todd responded to my tweet (posted on previous thread).
In my response, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, and attributed his lashing out on Twitter to #jetlag or #Romnesia.
However, he knew full well when he said it that he was comparing NSA concerns as equivalent to the concerns that Europeans had about Nazi Germany.
He is a low-life scum who only “knows” the horserace aspect of politics. He’s a terrible interviewer and only cozies up to fellow journos. The worst thing about him though, is that he serves as role model for Luke Russert, who strives to follow in upChuck’s footsteps instead of his beloved father.
Here’s my original tweet to him that caused such a defensive reaction:
Chuck sure has a thin skin, doesn’t he!
Freedom ….
Freedumb…
They made their beds. Time to sleep in them.
No one “who voted” on that ludicrous Crimean referendum actually thought through the consequences of their actions. Their lives will be harder and their futures bleaker and they won’t know what hit them.
“But the election of Pope Francis last March seemed to breathe new life into the Catholic Church and, potentially, into the relationship between Mr. Obama and the institution that gave him his start. While far from an ideological progressive, Francis does sometimes appear cloaked in Cardinal Bernardin’s “seamless garment.” His de-emphasis of issues like abortion and same-sex marriage and his championing of the poor and vulnerable — articulated in his mission statement, “The Joy of the Gospel” — have impressed a second-term president who argues that income inequality undermines human dignity. “Whether you call that the ‘seamless garment’ or ‘the joy of the Gospel’ or what, I’ve said to the president I consider that a pretty Catholic way of looking at the world,” said Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, who is Roman Catholic. Mr. McDonough added that the community-organizer-turned-president had expressed admiration to him about “how important it is for the Holy Father to be so in the community..
Last month, Catholic activists made their case for social justice on Capitol Hill. Afterward, relaxing over beers and a buffet in the Russell Senate Office Building, they discussed whether Cardinal George, who is retiring as archbishop of Chicago, would be replaced by Archbishop Gregory, who helped secure Mr. Obama’s church grant application in the 1980s. Among them was Mr. Lyke, the man who had received coaching from Mr. Obama years earlier in the basement of Holy Name Cathedral. He characterized Francis and Mr. Obama as a match made in heaven……”
Hi, everyone! Hope you had a great day! I actually woke up an hour or so ago. Had some minor surgery today at the cancer center. They inserted a port into the right side of my chest. It’s to make it easier to draw blood and give me chemo without destroying the veins in my arms. They were definitely overused. It’s not supposed to be visible if you look at it with naked eye. There’s a little bandage on it so I’ll see how true that is tomorrow.
I was drugged up, hungry and kind of miserable so I came home and took a nap.
Good evening gobrooklyn!
So glad to hear from you! {{{{{{{{{{{gobrooklyn}}}}}}}}}}
I hope you are able to get comfortable tonight and have a good rest when you turn in.
You’re doing good-keep hanging in there. I know it has to be rough on you but please hold on, many prayers are being sent your way.
Sending prayers, positive thoughts, positive energy, BIG OLD HUGS {{{{{{{{gobrooklyn}}}}}}} and blessings your way.
Warmest Blessings,
Cindy
Hey, Cindy. Thank you very much!
Take it easy tonight, GoB. {{{{{gob}}}}}
I will, Pamela. Thanks! :)
Sending you hugs and good thoughts.
Thanks, Wonka! :)
One day at at time, GB, as you know. Plenty of rest and good nutrition are absolutely essential. Keeping you in my thoughts!!
Thanks, Bob!
This is so brilliant: here is the King of Belgium, at the Airport, greeting our President Obama! So fitting, so respectful. Eat it, MSM. We will go around your smokescreen each and every freaking day!!
Hi MightyPamela….Happy Tuesday evening to you!
We are so blessed to have President Obama as our beloved President. I am so happy that others see his heart and love that he has for all humanity. I truly believe, that with all the hate that the MSM and repukes throw at him, God is not through with him yet and will use him for more greatness before he leaves office. They haven’t seen anything yet………
It is not the critic who counts, nor the man
who points out how the strong man stumbled, or
where the doer of deeds could have done them
better.
The credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena, whose face is marred by
dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again; who
knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who
spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the
best, knows in the end the triumph of high
achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails,
at least fails while daring greatly, so that his
place shall never be with those timid souls who
know neither victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Amen, Cindy.
What we are seeing this week, I believe, this group of world leaders recognizing PBO as their leader in some/many ways. I realize this is his initiative, and they all agreed to make it work, and have taken the steps to make it so, according to their own powers and abilities. But the entire world will benefit. It is evident in the deference they all show to him, that almost unanimously President Obama is held in highest regard and esteem. To witness our world leaders signing on to a pact which will make such an enormous difference to all life forms going forward, is of no small significance. It is because PBO never makes it about himself, it is because he works from the Heart, and recognizes the Heart in all Others he meets, there is the place of True Meeting, and Equality. He knows better than many that he cannot do it alone, that each element is a vital proponent of achieving the goal of World Peace. It is his innate level of Goodwill to All which creates the magnetic field for this kind of joined venture among humans.
Yes indeed! His life’s calling, has always been, and I believe it will always be about others. This is where our “true blessings” come from; caring for humanity without looking for the accolades. This, for me, is the highest form of living.
Amen, Cindy, amen again and again.
The Secret Service had better get three very competent, sober agents back to the president’s detail right now!! And the drunk ones need to be demoted to guarding the most minor official possible.
Jesus.
I shouldn’t laugh because they’re supposed to be on serious duty but dudes, drink in your hotel room. It’s always guys who can’t keep their penises in their pants - Cartagena, Colombia and now can’t handle their drink. If you don’t have a sober buddy with you, on such a serious duty, then bro, don’t get wasted.
Probably Man United fans. I can relate.
Finally a news story to get some treads! And they will, no doubt.
Russia Will Pay Dearly for Putin’s Anschluss
By Anders Aslund
President Vladimir Putin overplayed his hand when he invaded Crimea. This unprovoked and illegal aggression was a throwback to the Soviet combination of megalomania and inferiority complex. It was reminiscent of the Kremlin’s decision in December 1979 to invade Afghanistan, which in hindsight marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.
Putin has demolished the post-Cold War order in an attempt to serve his own political interests. But Russia will suffer from his shortsighted blitzkrieg.
clip
An overlooked fact is that 40 percent of Ukraine’s exports to Russia consist of machinery and armaments. Motor Sich in Zaporozhe produces all of Russia’s helicopter engines, Yuzhmash in Dnipropetrovsk manufactures carrier rockets and missiles and Antonov makes planes in Kiev. The Russian military-industrial complex will be in great trouble without these imports. Meanwhile, Western countries are quickly cutting arms deliveries to Russia as part of their sanctions.
Potentially, Russia’s greatest weakness is its legal system. The West is likely to treat the Kremlin, Putin’s cronies and large state corporations as a law enforcement problem suspected of corruption and money laundering. The international exposure of the gross enrichment of the Kremlin and its cronies could have quite an illuminating effect on Russians.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/russia-will-pay-dearly-for-putins-anschluss/496870.html
From this angle both of those men have quite a nasal appendage!
Each time I have visited Belgium I have found the people delightful, friendly and helpful…….and the food is great! You should see the breakfast buffets in Belgian hotels! Not the pitiful little offerings like Comfort Suite! Beautiful food, and plenty of it.
My daughter and I flew to Brussels then took the train to France. The Brussels airport is great. Customs was easy and young ladies were standing by with packets of maps and information about Brussels, smiling and welcoming us to Brussels. So different from most places! The man in passport control told me to be sure to have fun while in Belgium. My daughter found it an easy place to start using her French before she got to France. Kind of easing into the language experience.
If you have seen Monuments Men, the two pieces featured were from Belgium: the altar triptych from Ghent, and the Michaelangelo Madonna in Bruges, which we saw three years ago. It is truly breathtaking and heartbreaking. It is the only Michaelangelo outside of Italy. We loved it.
I haven’t had quite as much exposure as you in Belgium - only spending weekends there while working in the Netherlands. But, I absolutely loved the people, the food, the beauty. Really stunning! The real Belgian waffles, the beer, the lovely canals. Bruges was breathtaking! Clearly, I need to head to Europe soon for a recap…
Thank you for putting this woman on the Supreme Court, Mr. President!
Amen to that, Dudette. Stick it back in Scalia’s face, Justice Kagan, and make him choke on it.
UGH
Secret Service agents in Obama’s detail sent home from Netherlands after night of drinking
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secret-service-agents-in-obamas-detail-sent-home-from-netherlands-after-night-of-drinking/2014/03/25/28eb156e-b474-11e3-8020-b2d790b3c9e1_story.html
They should be assigned to some outpost in Antarctica!
I just saw that. Makes me mad and disgusted with them. Too important of a job.
Wow, They didn’t learn. Maybe they thought that they could get away with it because their boss is a woman now.
They did something crazy before. Did these guys do the same with the other Presidents? They are there to protect him - these so called agents are scary.
Another Bloomberg Editor Explains Why He Has Resigned, Over Its China Coverage
Four months ago, The New York Times ran a big story contending that Bloomberg editors had quashed an investigative report about corruption among leaders in China. The Times story was clearly based on informed comment from people inside Bloomberg who were unhappy about the result. It said that higher-ups at Bloomberg were worried that the story would hurt the company’s sales of financial terminals—the mainstay of its business—inside China, since the main purchasers would be directly or indirectly subject to government control.
clip
Ren Richardson responding to James Fallows’ question: Business and political power are inextricably linked everywhere. That’s especially so in China, where both are largely in the hands of a single, unelected political party that forbids the free flow of information and ideas and operates behind a veil of secrecy. Lack of transparency and accountability fuel rampant corruption, human rights abuses and environmental crimes. As China goes global, those values and practices are in danger of gaining currency elsewhere.
The question is a bigger one for society as a whole. What value do we place on investigative journalism?”
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/another-bloomberg-editor-explains-why-he-has-resigned-over-its-china-coverage/359565/
Recommend reading every word of it.
If you want a crystal clear perspective on what America would be like in a Koch plutocracy, China & Russia could not be more illustrative.
First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Ms. Natalia Galibarenko met Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus in Ukraine Mr. Valentin Velichko
On March 25, 2025 First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Ms. Natalia Galibarenko met Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus in Ukraine Mr. Valentin Velichko.
Ambassador was informed about the position of Ukraine on the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as the unlawful actions of the Russian Federation.
It was emphasized that the Republic of Belarus is expected to pursue the universally acknowledged principles of international law, territorial integrity and inviolability of state borders of Ukraine, while making its assessment of the situation in Ukraine.
The perspectives of Ukraine-Belarus relations in the nearest future, as well as the schedule of bilateral contacts were also discussed.
http://mfa.gov.ua/en/press-center/news/20561-pershij-zastupnik-ministra-zakordonnih-sprav-ukrajini-natalija-galibarenko-zustrilasya-z-poslom-respubliki-bilorusy-v-ukrajini-valentinom-velichkom
Night owl time: http://theobamadiary.com/2014/03/25/night-owl-chat-music-music-music-and-a-poem/