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14 Jul 2009 20:06

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U.S.: Obama pulls a rabbit out of the community college hat

  • $12 billion amount of money Obama wants to throw into community colleges, including money for technology and curriculum improvements source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

14 Jul 2009 13:38

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U.S.: Obama makes a tough concession on unemployment

  • My expectation is, is that we will probably continue to see unemployment tick up for several months. And the challenge for this administration is to make sure that even as we are stabilizing the financial system … are people able to find good jobs that pay good wages?
  • President Barack Obama • Regarding the ticking-ever-higher unemployment rates, which have been a thorn in his side lately, but not one he’s unwilling to take head-on. He’s on his way to Michigan, a state with 14.1% unemployment, to talk about some economic job-type stuff. That’s right, we live in an industrialized nation where a state has 14.1% unemployment. Insane. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

13 Jul 2009 01:00

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Biz, U.S.: The fight over Shepard Fairey’s Obama “Hope” illo gets messy

  • Plaintiffs have profited from the sales of Mr. Garcia’s copyrighted photograph image and Defendant AP seeks to reap some of the profit by claiming that it – and not Mr. Garcia – is the rightful owner of the copyright in the photograph.
  • A legal memorandum in support of photographer Manuel Garcia • Regarding Fairey v. Associated Press, i.e. the legal battle over the iconic Obama “Hope” poster. For those not in the loop, Shepard Fairey did an immaculate illustration based on a photo Garcia shot and AP ran on the wire. After it blew up, AP sued Fairey, who claimed fair use. Now, Garcia’s claiming neither of them have the right to claim that photo as theirs. We agree that Garcia has a claim over this, but point out that if you look on Getty Images, Obama has literally hundreds of photos taken of him each week (and in April of 2006 alone, he showed up on Getty 41 times) – a fact which we think dilutes both his and AP’s claims. He’s a famous person who gets photographed a lot. Fairey just grabbed a random photo. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jul 2009 16:50

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U.S., World: Obama-mania, plus a dash of disappointment, hits Ghana

  • I came purposely to catch a glimpse of Obama but it is unfortunate that the American security had to prevent us from doing so.
  • Ghanaian student Ms. Parker • On the ever-elusive president during his visit to the country in West Africa. Thousands of people made the trip to the Cape Coast to try and catch a glimpse of Obama but few succeeded – security was tight and, unlike Bill Clinton in 1998, he didn’t speak at an outdoor event.  • source
Posted by Nathalie Heiberg • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jul 2009 13:07

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Politics, U.S.: Obama sez give the stimulus plan time to do its thing

  • It takes time to get out of the woods, sez the prez. Barack Obama is facing newfound criticism of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan in the wake of higher unemployment. His plan? No reversals. No second stimulus. Stay the course. “We must let it work the way it’s supposed to,” he says, “with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity.” So yeah. No extra $$$, no appeasing the Republicans. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jul 2009 10:24

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U.S., World: Obama stands up for war-ravaged Africa

  • There are wars over land and wars over resources. And it is still far too easy for those without conscience to manipulate whole communities into fighting among faiths and tribes.
  • Presdient Barack Obama • Discussing how conflicts in Africa can get out of hand for selfish, heartless reasons. Obama says the differences in cultures should be “a source of strength, not a cause for division.” • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

10 Jul 2009 14:50

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Offbeat, World: Obama wasn’t peeking a glance at some hottie. Sarkozy was.

  • You know the scene. Obama gets passed by some hot girl at G8’s summit in Italy, and a photo makes it look like he was totally catching a glimpse of the lady (who happens to be 16, by the way). Fortunately, video evidence proves otherwise. However, the evidence totally implicates French president Nicolas Sarkozy. YES!source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 Jul 2009 10:20

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U.S.: Coming soon: Obama Stimulus Plan II, Electric Boogaloo?

  • With unemployment still really high, it might just be necessary. The first stimulus plan convinced die-hard fiscal conservatives everywhere to make total tea bags of themselves. Would a possible round two have a similar effect? That’s what Obama administration officials get to have fun deciding over the next little while. If things continue to suck in the economy, we could in fact see another stimulus package sold to the American people. The question is, when, if at all, would it be safe for Obama to pull that fairly unpopular trigger? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jul 2009 23:15

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U.S.: Mount Rushmore needed a change, so some activists added Obama

Unfortunately, Obama isn’t made of stone. He’s made of some banner material – the kind that gets 11 people arrested for trespassing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2009 23:22

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U.S.: Key Obama staff members and the size of their paychecks

Barack Obama, president $400,000

David Axelrod, Senior Advisor $172,000

Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff $172,000

Robert Gibbs, Press Secretary $172,000

Jon Faverau, speechwriter, not the actor $172,000


Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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