Obama Girls visit Harry Potter set in London

They are on the move!!! They are popping up in London and surprising everyone!!

An evening meal of fish and chips at a pub rounded off an eventful day in London for First Daughters Malia and Sasha Obama.

The youngsters — ages 10 and 7 — dined with mom Michelle Obama at The Audley on Mount Street in Mayfair on Monday evening in a move that caught bar managers by surprise.

The children chose the fish supper while their mother opted for sirloin steak, say the pub's owners, Punch Pub Company.

[snip]

Earlier in the day, the girls also visited the set of the new Harry Potter movie at North London's Pinewood Studios and the Houses of Parliament, where they checked out the historic clock tower and its Big Ben bell, according to the BBC.

Mrs. Obama also met with Sarah Brown, the wife of Prime Minster Gordon Brown — someone she got to know well during her last visit to London back in April, when she accompanied her husband on a royal visit.

Source

Home Page

Obama Girls in London (Video)

Home Page

Fundraiser for UK Ambassador

Not surprised.

President Obama will nominate key Democratic fundraiser and investment banker Louis Susman to be the country's ambassador to the Court of St. James. Susman bundled $300,000 in donations towards Obama's inauguration, and was a major fundraiser for Senator John Kerry's campaign as well. Susman, 71, retired in February from his post as vice chairman of Citigroup. Ambassadorships are frequently meted out as rewards to a successful campaign's high-rollers. Obama said in January that he would probably appoint some top donors as ambassadors: "It would be disingenuous for me to suggest that there are not going to be some excellent public servants but who haven't come through the ranks of the civil service," he said.

Home Page

President Obama Addresses the G20 Summit (Video)

Home Page

Takes Obama to smooth things over with France and China

Can anyone imagine or see former President Bush doing the following?

The exchange between Sarkozy and Hu got so heated, said a source -- who is not a member of the Obama administration -- it was threatening the unity of the G-20 leaders' meeting.

"They were going through the revised draft," a senior Obama administration official said.

The issue: Sarko wanted "a list of non-compliant jurisdictions," tones that allow tax havens, he senior official said. "Other countries wanted it too, but (Sarkozy) was the most outspoken."

Sarkozy specifically was pushing for a list from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to be included in the G-20 Leaders' Statement.

Headquartered in Paris, the OECD has 30 member countries -- all capitalist democracies.

China opposed any such list being included in the final Leaders' Statement.

"China tends to have a problem endorsing the documents of organizations like the OECD that they're not a party to," the senior administration official said.

But Mr. Obama, according to this account, stepped between the two men, urging them to try to find consensus, and giving them a "pep talk" about the importance of working together.

The senior adminstration official said that Mr. Obama pulled Mr. Sarkozy aside, took him to a corner, "and discussed possible alternatives," the senior official said.

Once they arrived at one, President Obama "sent a message to the Chinese" that a counter-offer was on the table. The Chinese spent some time considering the offer. But they took a few minutes.

So Mr. Obama, with the assistance of translators, suggested that he and Mr. Hu have a conversation as well. They, too went to the corner to talk. After a few minutes, Mr. Obama called upon Mr. Sarkozy to join them.

"Translators and sherpas in tow, they reached an agreement," the official said. "There was a multiple shaking of hands."

President Bush just was not that into foreign affairs, unless it was about the Iraq or Afghanistan Wars. He never tried consensus or tried to find that one something to bring folks together, sorry he just did not. And after seeing the mastery of Obama, one wonders how in the hell did George W. Bush ever get elected president? It is damn refreshing to have someone of intellect, one who understands people in the White House. President George W. Bush is a reminder of what we never should have as a leader in charge of this country ever again.

Home Page

First Lady Michelle Obama is the new "Princess Diana" (Pictures, Video)

A friend of mine's called me today while I was at work. She talked about Michelle Obama. How the London school children LOVED HER.



The fascination with our First Lady has skyrocketed like a shooting star. She is the star, she is our, American, Princess Diana.

I would not state this, but as my friend was talking, she could not stop but compare Michelle and Diana. I always felt that way about Michelle. The nastiness of the GOP trying to paint her this past election made many stomachs turn, but to look at her now brings tears to my face. She is glamorous, approachable, humble, smart, athletic, svelte, practical, and beautiful. She is the woman we all are, but she is on the national stage. She represents all of us, the working women with children, a husband and home. She has shown and proven that we can tackle the huge issues down to the little ones, just like us, ladies do it every single day.

I am proud of Michelle Obama, she surely makes each one of us proud to have her as the First Lady of the United States, and Barack Obama is damn lucky.

FLOTUS Visit to London Girls School

School Girls in London LOVE Michelle, it will touch your heart

Al Rodgers great pictures of Barack and Michelle Obama, with Michelle being mobbed by the London school children

More Obamas in London pics w/The Queen and G20 Dinner






Home Page

Obama's Press Conference in London, England, April 2, 2009 (Video and Transcript)

President Obama's Press Conference from the ExCel Center, London, United Kingdom

Transcript

Home Page

Michelle Obama's Faux Pas? The Real Faux Pas Was Prince Philip.

There is much ado about nothing, in my mind, about First Lady Michelle Obama briefly touching the Queen after the Queen first touched her.

The rules are set in stone, and so the eagerly watching British media sputtered when the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, briefly put her hand on the back of Queen Elizabeth II as the two chatted at a reception. Etiquette is quite stern about this ("Whatever you do, don't touch the Queen!").

[snip]

On Wednesday, Michelle Obama put her hand on the Queen only after the Queen had placed her own hand on the First Lady's back as part of their conversation. So there is room for theological argument as to whether the American reciprocity of touch was allowable given the social dynamics of the situation. (Less explicable was when President George W. Bush winked at the Queen.) Still, the sight of anyone apparently touching the Queen with anything more than a limp handshake is enough to send the British (or traditionalists in the old Commonwealth) twittering.

OK, Queen Elizabeth touched Michelle, first, but the British are talking about this, or are they?

I am American and I am not a study of knowing all protocol, but I do know if someone touches you out of endearment it is human nature to reciprocate. I saw the tape and Her Majesty did not look shocked, in awe, shuttered or tried to run away, in fact she smiled as if nothing happened. And from looking at all the tape that has been run on television, it appears that the Queen and Prince Philip liked the Obamas.

The Michelle faux pas is nothing in my book and most Americans, to be honest, don't care. I am not trying to be harsh on British protocol, but there is just too much other things like the economy and job loss to get riled up about a touch.

The real faux pas was Prince Philip.



And are you even caring about that?

Cross-posted @ Daily Kos

Time Magazine

Home Page

Obama Accepts Invitation to Visit China in the Fall (Video)

President Barack Obama will visit China this year after being invited by Chinese President Hu Jintao today, and both leaders agreed to set up regular talks.

Obama and Hu agreed to establish a “U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue” to discuss financial, trade and other issues between the two countries, the White House said in a statement. Both sides vowed to combat protectionism that may be arising amid the global recession.

“The relationship between the U.S. and China has become extremely constructive,” Obama said. “Our economic relationships are very strong.”

Obama and Hu met at Winfield House, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to the U.K., where Obama is staying. Obama, Hu and other leaders of the Group of 20 developed and emerging economies are in London to discuss a unified response to the global financial crisis.

“Good relations with the U.S. are not only in the interests of the two peoples, but also beneficial to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, and the world at large,” Hu said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Bloomberg

Home Page

President Obama and Prime Minister Brown Full Press Conference, London, England (Video and Transcript)

Transcript



Home Page

FLOTUS, Michelle Obama visits a cancer center in London

Michelle Obama wished a cancer care center a happy first birthday on Wednesday during her first full day in London before the G20 summit.

The U.S. first lady, who visited the center with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, blew out a single candle on a chocolate-frosted sponge cake, and then joined others for tea.

"This is pretty amazing," Mrs. Obama said of the Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre, which Mrs. Brown opened last year.

"It's an oasis, an oasis that's necessary for people who are struggling. The building actualizes their journey in so many ways," he said. read more here......

Home Page

Obamas, Browns @ 10 Downing Street & London (Pictures)

The Obamas are in London











Home Page

Left for London, Arrived in London, What a Difference a Few Hours Make for the Obamas (Pictures)

Departing for London, FLOTUS looks chic.....

Arriving in London.....

Home Page

FLOTUS, Michelle Obama prepares for her first international rollout

Europe is holding its breath for First Lady Michelle Obama. Literally.

The first couple’s trip to Europe Tuesday takes Michelle Obama to a land that likes her husband but seems positively fascinated by her.

The British press in particular has followed Michelle Obama’s every move breathlessly, from her dresses to the “kitchen garden” behind the White House. One London paper tracked down her high-school prom date. Another asked plaintively, “Why Doesn’t the UK Have a Michelle Obama?”

When was the last time we heard any country over the moon, not just for the President but moreso, for the First Lady? Not since, Jacqueline Kennedy.

I have noticed that Michelle Obama is slowly coming into her own as First Lady. She is unafraid of going all over Washington, D.C. She is candid, funny, and as many say, just naturally real. So, Europe, but specifically London is awaiting the First Lady.

“Her every ensemble will be front page news and endlessly interpreted and decoded,” said Patricia McDonald, a London-based editor for the Michelle Obama fashion blog, www.Mrs- O.org. “Will she break out a new wardrobe, or in deference to the economy, recycle her greatest hits?”

Michelle Obama’s official schedule says she will accompany the president to many of his events – they both will have tea with Queen Elizabeth II, for instance – but she’ll have some solo outings as well. She’ll visit an all-girls school in London where the population is mostly minority and the second language is English — an echo of her work in Washington, DC.

Sarah Brown, Britain’s first lady, will give Michelle Obama a tour of a health facility in London Wednesday and will take her and other spouses on a tour in London Thursday during the G-20 economic summit.

In France, Obama will join NATO spouses in visiting a hospital and a cathedral. And at all of these events, she'll stand next to some of the world’s most high-profile political spouses— including Bruni-Sarkozy, the Italian-born ex-supermodel who is an admirer of the self-described girl from the Chicago’s South Side.

“She looks like she’s a great, strong, intelligent woman,” Bruni-Sarkozy said in one recent interview. “I must say that she doesn’t look like she [needs] advice … I think it would probably be better for me to be getting advice from her.”

Ahh, Michelle the microscope will be out in full force on you. Even though she is there as support for her husband, it will feel like she is the only goldfish in that bowl. But never fear, Europe is eager and awaiting you. FLOTUS, you will be alright.

Source

Home Page

Obama will be doin' it U.S. style while in London and the rest of Europe

Well, the U.K. paper, The Guardian has all the details of how Obama will emerge in London.

With an entourage of 500 staff, an armour-plated limousine and a fleet of decoy helicopters, America's new president will arrive for his first visit to Britain amid huge razzmatazz on Tuesday for the G20 summit. But it will be his closed-door meetings with world leaders that are likely to prove the most significant of the trip

Britain will get its first chance to see Barack Obama this week when a White House cavalcade - complete with armoured limousines, helicopters, 200 US secret service staff and a six-doctor medical team - sweeps into the UK.

Wow. I not surprised at all the armour, I am in awe of the six-doctor medical team. What do you have to do to get hired as a doctor to work for the President?

More than 500 officials and staff will accompany the president on his tour this week - along with a mass of high-tech security equipment, including the $300,000 presidential limousine, known as The Beast. Fitted with night-vision camera, reinforced steel plating, tear- gas cannon and oxygen tanks, the vehicle is the ultimate in heavy armoured transport.

In addition, a team from the White House kitchen will travel with the president to prepare his food. As one official put it: "When the president travels, the White House travels with him, right down to the car he drives, the water he drinks, the gasoline he uses, the food he eats. America is still the sole superpower and the president must have the ability to handle any crisis, anywhere, any time."

Wow. This is just not for Barack Obama, but this treatment is for any elected President of the United States, only the fascination is at an all time peak, especially in Europe.

Obama will start his first presidential visit to Europe when he steps down from the US presidential jet, Air Force One, at Stansted airport on Tuesday. The Boeing 747-200B is fitted with its own gym, electronic defence units and shielding to protect its complex communication devices from radiation from nuclear blasts. Among the officials on the flight will be a military officer carrying America's nuclear missile launch codes.

Obama will then be flown to central London in a VH-3D helicopter known as Marine One. Again, high-tech security will dominate his journey. Marine One is fitted with flares that can be fired to confuse heat-seeking missiles and always flies in groups containing several identical decoy helicopters.

While in town, the president will be guarded by more than 200 US secret servicemen - easily identifiable by their shirt-cuff radios and Ray-Ban sunglasses. Obama has already had some time to get used their attention. It was decided 18 months ago, when he was still a presidential candidate, that his African-American background put him at particular risk of an assassination attempt and he was provided with his security guards.

And should anything befall the President, a White House medical unit will be at hand to provide emergency care. The team consists of surgeons, nurses and other medical personnel and carries supplies of blood of the type AB, the president's blood group. At the same time, Obama will be constantly minded by his personal aide Reggie Love, who dials his BlackBerry, fetches his jacket and tie and supplies him with snacks. First Lady Michelle Obama will also have a coterie of assistants, including a secretary, a press officer and several bodyguards.

OK, you have to read the full article to get the jist of it. While I am not shocked at all of this, because this does befall to any sitting U.S. President, one can not be removed or not reminded that Barack Obama is African-American and we do have walking crazies all over this world, so precaution is of the utmost.

Ok, London and the rest of Europe enjoy President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, as we do here in the United States, everyday.





The Guardian Article

Home Page

President Obama to meet Queen Elizabeth II

That is when he leaves for his European visit, with the First Lady, the end of the month.

HE Queen is to give Barack Obama a private “getting-to-know-you” audience next month.

Her Majesty will meet the new US President in advance of an economic summit in London.

The private meeting is highly unusual because Mr Obama will not be on a State visit.

But advisers believe it is important the Queen — who opened an interchange in Hull yesterday — meets him before any official trip.

A source said: “There is a wish to do these things as discreetly as possible in the first instance.”

President Obama, famed for his Yes We Can slogan, will fly with wife Michelle on Air Force One to Stansted, Essex.

The private talks will be held the next day at Buckingham Palace.

Mr Obama will then join the G20 leaders for a Downing Street dinner on the eve of the summit on April 2.

Source

Home Page

Senator Edward Kennedy to be Knighted (Video)

From Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Home Page

Obama meets with Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK (Video)

Transcript

Home Page

Prime Minister Gordon Brown (UK) will visit President Obama in March

Downing Street has confirmed Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be visiting US president Barack Obama on 3 March.

It will be the first time the two have met face-to-face since Mr Obama was elected last year.

A White House statement said the US and UK had a "special partnership" and the president wanted to work closely with Mr Brown on "common global challenges".

The leaders are expected to discuss the global financial crisis and strategy in Afghanistan, among other issues.

These include an economic summit in London to be held in April and the upcoming 60th anniversary NATO summit in Strasbourg-Kehl.

Mr Brown will not be the first serving leader visit the new president in Washington.

Mr Obama is due to host Japanese prime minister Taro Aso on Tuesday.

'Deep affection'

BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti said Mr Brown's visit was important because many people would be monitoring the personal relationship that might develop between the two leaders.

She said that there had been no reaction from Downing Street earlier this year when former prime minister Tony Blair visited Mr Obama in Washington.

Mr Obama and Mr Brown last met in person when the then presidential candidate visited London last July.

Then, Mr Obama said he shared a desire with Mr Brown to strengthen the trans-Atlantic relationship to solve problems that could not be tackled by countries acting on their own.

He also spoke of a "deep and abiding affection for the British people in America and a fascination with all things British".

BBC

Home Page

Obama in London Pictures

The last leg of this trip before returning to the United States...



meeting with conservative opposition leader, David Cameron




speaking to press outside of 10 Downing Street














with Prime Minister Gordon Brown














meeting with former Prime Minister Tony Blair






london obama supporters










london supporters waiting outside of parliament


leaving london television studio, rumor finished meet the press interview


ain't playin' with o's security


leaving london, coming home

Obama Arriving in London Pictures

Home Page