Hello
A very lengthy mishmash ahead.
Have a nice weekend.
..."we have successfully and dramatically changed our course at the United Nations. We’ve ended needless American isolation. We’ve worked to repair what were some badly frayed relationships and scrapped outdated positions. And in the process, we’ve built a strong basis for cooperation that advances our security". (U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice)
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So over the last week, president Obama jumped from event to event during the UN General Assembly in New York, clearly showing that the United States is once again leading the United Nations.
First, he addressed the Millennium Development Goals Conference, going through some terrific partnerships between the US and developing countries - things i had no idea were happening before this speech. And, he presented his plan for global development, that received mainly good reviews, like the one from The Guardian:
There are many things to like in the policy – aiming for sustainable development, enabling local entrepreneurship, public-private partnerships, being selective in what we do and where, country ownership, a division of labour among donors, and the renewed centrality of evaluations to guide investments. The policy represents major progress in justifying and elevating development, even if it seems like it has taken ages to reach this point - But implementation will be the acid test...
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The main event was this terrific address to the UN General Assembly, focusing mainly on the Middle East. The president challenged the entire world to stand behind the negotiation and help as much as possible in order to reach what looks like an impossible mission: A peace agreement within a year.
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Also, he met with Premier Wen Jiabao of China.
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And with Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan.
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And finally, he gave an excellent interview to BBC Persian and participated in a special meeting on Sudan - that by his demand was open to cameras and actually gave activists a lot of hope.
UNITED NATIONS — After months of leaving Sudan policy on a back burner, President Obama put the weight of his administration and his own personal esteem in Africa on the line Friday, demanding that north and south Sudan ensure that their likely split into two nations early next year proceed peacefully.
At a high-level Sudan meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Obama said Washington would normalize relations should the Jan. 9 referendum for the independence of southern Sudan be carried off calmly and the Darfur conflict be settled. Failing in either would bring further isolation, he warned.
If Khartoum fulfills its obligations in settling the conflicts, then the United States will support agricultural development, expand trade and investment, exchange ambassadors and eventually lift sanctions, Mr. Obama said.
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....United Nations officials had intended the meeting to be a small gathering of foreign ministers to stress in the presence of senior representatives of both sides that the referendum not be delayed.
But it ballooned into something much larger after President Obama decided to attend. About 40 foreign leaders or senior officials signed up to speak. Ultimately the meeting became a highly visible means to serve notice that the onus is on the Sudanese to carry out the last, hardest stages of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement they signed in 2005.
President Obama's strong and moving remarks begins around the 20:00 mark.
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On the sideline of everything, Michelle Obama gave a very passionate speech to the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, not before introduced, quite adorably, by her husband.
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President Obama in full campaign mode
The president is hitting the road for a series of rallies this week, starting with events at the University of Wisconsin and in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Tuesday, followed an event in Iowa on Wednesday.
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Yet another excellent Rachel's piece:
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Some health care stuff:
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Look what's going on in some Red States. Let's see them repealing. Source.
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Few good videos:
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The Philadelphia Inquirer: It's high time for people who know something to speak up
Six months ago today, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, the most ambitious and far-reaching reform of the health-care system in 45 years. In the months since that historic accomplishment, the public has been subjected to a relentless barrage of know-nothing, self-interested negativism from politicians and interest groups funded by the insurance industry, and the polls show voters are taking it seriously.
In the run-up to the reform vote, House Minority Leader John Boehner repeatedly crowed that the U.S. health-care system is "the best in the world." That is simply false. On every measure used to assess the effectiveness of health-care systems, the United States is outranked by more than 30 other nations. The first step to improvement is to recognize the problems.
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I am a physician, and I spent 16 years of my career in and around the health-insurance industry, and I think the health-reform law is a huge step in the right direction.
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Few pieces of legislation prove to be perfect on enactment, and our world is constantly changing. There will be changes we wish to make as implementation unfolds, and these can be accomplished. The law offers all of us the opportunity to put our shoulders to the wheel to ensure successful implementation and identify areas for improvement.
The current clamor for repeal is a fool's mission. Let's hope such talk dies a natural death as the benefits of the law become more concrete, beginning today.
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University of Miami Pediatrician, Dr. Lee Sanders examines Aalliyah Negron, 6, as her sister Jensenia Bonilla,4, watches in an examination room at the University, September 23. With the health care changes, Aalliyah's mother Gladys Bonilla doesn't have to worry about not finding insurance for her daughter who has a number of pre-existing conditions, including down syndrome, congenital heart defect and dependent on a feeding tube.
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University of Miami Pediatrician Endocrinologist Dr. Janine Sanchez, examines Roberto V. Murillo, 13. Roberto's parents now don't have to worry about not finding insurance for their son who has diabetes.
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U.S. Stocks Rise for Fourth Week as Economic Concerns Ease
U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to a fourth straight weekly gain, as signs of improving demand for capital goods, technology products and consumer items tempered concern the economic rebound is slowing.
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....Stocks rallied yesterday after a government report showed orders for durable goods excluding transportation equipment rose in August at twice the pace forecast by economists. Next week brings September gauges of consumer confidence and business activity.
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Yesterday there was a rec-list diary here comparing the black president and the black AG to Jim Crow. Knowing personally some people who lived through the hell of Crow's days, this was so offensive, and so close to the stuff i expect to hear from Gingrich, Palin and Beck - i decided it was just a dream and i didn't really see it here.
For those who wants to know what Barack Obama has done over the past 20 months, mostly by his own, to promote the cause of equality for LGBT, here's a list:
- Lifted the HIV travel ban.
- extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees in 2009 and 2010 ... issued diplomatic passports, and provided other benefits, to the partners of same-sex foreign service employees.
- Appointed 100 GLBT persons in less than 1 year. (For some perspective: Bill Clinton appointed 140 over 8 years).
- Appointed more openly gay people to his administration than the last two combined, including the first ever transgender appointees.
- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King.
- Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
- Spoke out against LGBT discrimination at the National Prayer Breakfast.
- Welcomed four gay couples to its first State Dinner.
- Publicly invited shunned gay Mississippi high school prom student to the White House.
- Convened the first-ever anti-bullying summit to craft a national strategy to reduce bullying in schools.
- Reversed the US’s position by signing the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
- Successfully fought for UN accreditation of IGLHRC (the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, against Republican attempts to block it.
- Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation’s largest employer).
- Instructed HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds to allow LGBT visitation rights.
- Extended the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program.
- Issued a National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
- Eliminated the discriminatory Census Bureau policy that kept gay relationships from being counted, encouraging couples who consider themselves married to file that way, even if their state of residence does not yet permit legal marriage.
- Extended domestic violence protections to LGBT victims
- Extended the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover employees taking unpaid leave to care for the children of same-sex partners.
- Required all grant applicants seeking HUD funding to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals.
- Issued guidance specifically to assist LGBT tenants denied housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
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All these by AP:
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, addresses a reception for the United Nations General Assembly at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, New York, Sept. 23, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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First Lady Michelle Obama with Haiti's First Lady Elisabeth D. Preval (L), Norway's First Lady Ingrid Schulerud (R) and chef Dan Barber (2nd R) lead other First Ladies during a visit to Stone Barns Center in Pocantico Hills, New York as part of a tour hosted by Obama for spouses of heads of government attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Chantal Biya, First Lady of Cameroon

Haitian First Lady Elisabeth D. Preval

First Lady of Norway Ingrid Schulerud
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Finally, here's a real piece of journalism: an answer to the all important question: What brand the president' sox are. I see a controversy coming...
