First Lady Michelle Obama hosts a workshop and concert with classical musicians, young and old, as part of the White House Music Series.

Fredrik Reinfeldt to meet Barack Obama

On Tuesday 3 November, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the EU Presidency, will visit Washington to chair the EU-USA Summit together with US President Barack Obama. The agenda includes issues such as climate change and the road to Copenhagen, the global economic and financial crisis and follow-up of the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh as well as Afghanistan and Iran.

Read the Swedish Government’s Press Release

In Afghanistan this has already happened at least once when the original objectives to deny al-Qaida safe havens and to topple the Taliban regime were superseded by the very humanitarian notion of democracy and nation building. Western countries always confuse the art of war with the very problematic attempts to do good. The latter objectives are very difficult in any region that hasn’t seen the light and especially troublesome in Afghanistan, since there is no viable political alternative to the Taliban cause. Karzai has no legacy. Afghanistan is a deep mess. One wonders if the upcoming election will bring a new opening. In any case this is probably what Obama is considering.

Successfully conducted operations do not comprise the whole of warfare. Without a suitable strategy that takes into account the dynamics and abstractions of politics, military operations will be bereft of their legacy. Obama needs to bring change to the conflict he inherited.

In Zurich, Secretary Clinton attended the signing of two protocols between the governments of Turkey and Armenia. In London and Dublin, the Secretary engaged in a series of discussions on a wide range of bilateral, transatlantic, and global issues. In Belfast, the Secretary emphasized the U.S. commitment to the joint economic prosperity of Northern Ireland and the United States, as well as reaffirming unwavering U.S. support for Northern Ireland’s peace process.

In Moscow, the Secretary met with senior Russian officials to discuss progress on a successor agreement to START, cooperation on nonproliferation and counterterrorism, and next steps for the Clinton-Lavrov commission.

After Moscow, the Secretary traveled to Kazan, where she met with local officials and held discussions with religious leaders in Kazan to learn more about Kazan’s experience in fostering tolerance and promoting interfaith dialogue.

Source: State.gov

We’re delighted to be here to welcome Secretary Clinton to (inaudible) of Ireland. And as recently as last March, we met together to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the White House with President Obama. And I’m delighted she’s taken time to visit us here today. I also would like to take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate President Obama on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Secretary Clinton has been fundamental, and has been fundamental at the new U.S. Administration’s commitment and massive efforts to build a better world to tackle global problems in a cooperative, multilateral framework. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize is an early and truly well deserved recognition of those efforts.

The fruits of Secretary Clinton’s efforts are already clear and progress on issues that are impacting the global economic crisis, on nuclear disarmament, on climate change, on poverty and disease in the developing world, and on relations between the United States and the European Union and major powers such as Russian and China. That international multilateral approach is, of course, a cornerstone of our own Irish foreign policy. The recent overwhelming verdict of the people and our relationship with the European Union and the Liston Treaty referendum serves to reaffirm that point. It sent a clear signal around the world about Ireland sees herself as a modern outward-looking partner, active in the international community.

Today, the minister of foreign affairs and I look forward to discussing a range of international issues, as well as the close bilateral relationship between Ireland and the United States with the Secretary of State. We will also take the opportunity to review progress in Northern Ireland, a place transformed in no small part due to the efforts of the Clinton Administration and with Secretary Clinton herself in a crucial period at the start of the peace process.

I’m optimistic that we will see definitive progress on the issue of devolution of (inaudible) and justice in the coming days. That will, in turn, lay the platform for a concentration of all of our efforts on the economic and social issues that matter most to the people, including our joint investment in building an all-island economy as an essential component of a common future and an economic recovery for our people both north and south.

I know that Hillary Clinton will continue to work closely with us in support of the peace process and indeed she has found great inspiration from her work here as she works for peace elsewhere in the world.

SECRETARY CLINTON:

Taoiseach, thank you so much. And it’s wonderful to be back here in Dublin. I wish to congratulate your government on the resounding vote in the Lisbon treaty referendum, and also to thank you for the kind words about President Obama. I know our commitment to working with like-minded friends, such as Ireland, means that we’ll be seeing a lot of each other and consulting often about what more we can do to provide the conditions for peace, security, and prosperity.

I just came, of course, from a day yesterday in Geneva where the hard work of diplomacy and multilateral engagement was on display to try to work on another difficult conflict, but I think that’s what diplomacy and international relations calls for today. But there is no greater joy than to come back to Ireland to be in Dublin today. I said to Brian, I wish we could just sort of take a day off, wander around this beautiful park and enjoy some of the hospitality that I have experienced before. Bill and I feel such a special connection to Ireland and, of course, we are not alone – millions of Americans feel the same.

But it’s not only ties of family and culture and history and heritage. It is because we have built a strong partnership. Our diplomats and our aid workers collaborate together to resolve conflicts, fight hunger, poverty and disease, our businesses invest in trade to create new jobs and wider prosperity, education, innovation, and productivity have made Ireland a great place to do business, and Americans have leapt at the opportunity. At the end of last year, U.S. foreign direct investment in Ireland ran into the tens of billions of dollars per year.

Now, we know that we’ve had some challenging economic times. That has been apparent, both here in Ireland, the United States, and really around the globe. As we grapple with this global economic downturn, we are aware of the difficulties that people are suffering, people who are losing jobs, people who are unable to pursue their dreams. But Ireland has moved aggressively to stabilize its financial markets, to jumpstart its economy. And we will continue to work with our Irish friends because they understand that we live in an interconnected and interdependent world. It has been a hallmark of Ireland’s history. The Irish may have gone into the world as exiles and immigrants, but they also (inaudible) poets and speechmakers as entrepreneurs and innovators, and we see that still today.

I want to thank the Government of Ireland for your pledge to commit 20 percent of your foreign assistance by 2012 to eradicating hunger around the world, with the aim of cutting that number of hungry in half by 2015. As a people whose history is scarred by famine, the Irish understand that this is an extraordinary global challenge that requires a commitment of that measure.

I was very pleased that Minister Power participated in our hunger summit at the UN during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Ireland, truly does, punch above its weight on the big issues of the day from climate change to nonproliferation. Irish peacekeepers have saved lives and provided crucial stability in troubled lands from Kosovo to Liberia to East Timor. And we are grateful for their service and their sacrifice.

Here in Phoenix Park, whose name symbolizes renewal, I am absolutely in accord with former President Kennedy, that Irish future is as promising as your past is proud. And it is a future that we will share together. I will leave here to go to Belfast to continue work that our countries have done together, that I have been very committed to for a number of years, in which the people of the north, as well as the entire island, have made so much progress on together.

So thank you again, for welcoming me here.

Read the questions and answers during the press conference.

(Yesterday) morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I’d been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize — men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I’ve said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won’t all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it’s recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award — and the call to action that comes with it — does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we’ve begun together. I’m grateful that you’ve stood with me thus far, and I’m honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

by Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 9, 2009; 5:55 AM

President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Friday morning for what the committee called “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” especially his work to reach out to the Muslim world and to eliminate nuclear weapons around the globe.

The announcement, less than nine months after Obama took office, sparked immediate questions from reporters in Oslo about whether the Nobel committee was acting prematurely in rewarding a world leader who has outlined a lofty and ambitious agenda but has not yet made many concrete steps toward realizing it.

But Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the five-member Nobel committee, said “we have not given the prize for what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do.”

Full article

As I have commented before on this blog, the isolated people in rural Afghanistan have formed a tribal culture that just won’t go away. The Afghan president Karzai and his government are weak and corrupt. Folks just don’t like him and many regard him as a traitor. The resent election was compromised by rigging. To that you have to add the weak national identity that also is a problem, mitigating what the U.S. and its allies are trying to achieve.

More troops will not decide the war in Afghanistan unless there are really strong political alternatives to the Taliban cause. Just as the people of South Vietnam did not see Nguyễn Văn Thiệu as trustworthy political leader, which contributed to the communist victory, Karzai is hardly one who will be able to unite the Afghani people. Afghanistan is already a severe headache for Obama. More troops without a political vision in sight will make it a quagmire.

1st Lady Mrs. Obama said:

We need all of our children to be exposed to the Olympic ideals that athletes from around the world represent, particularly this time in our nation’s history, where athletics is becoming more of a fleeting opportunity. Funds dry up so it becomes harder for kids to engage in sports, to learn how to swim, to even ride a bike. When we’re seeing rates of childhood obesity increase, it is so important for us to raise up the platform of fitness and competition and fair play; to teach kids to cheer on the victors and empathize with those in defeat, but most importantly, to recognize that all the hard work that is required to do something special.

I remember watching the Olympics when I was little. I remember it to the T, some of those memories. And Nadia Comaneci is here, who – (applause) – and so many incredible Olympic athletes. But I remember, I told this story, when you scored that perfect 10, you bounced off the balance beam, off the parallel bars. I thought I could do that. (Laughter.) I didn’t know then that I would be 5′11″. (Laughter.)

Read more about the 1st Lady’s first day in Copenhagen.

I won’t even get into what the health care debate looks like from here in Switzerland. In Switzerland (and the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, you name ‘em), even right wing, and the far right wing politician dare not question health care as a basic right. No one questions the idea that every citizen, every human being, is entitled to health care the way they are entitled to air, or water.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caitlin-kraft-buchman/switzerlands-health-insur_b_291944.html

PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV: (As translated.) I agree that indeed recently we have witnessed very positive changes in our relations, with established, constructive, friendly working relations that allow us to tackle difficult issues that not only the two countries face, but also the entire world.

Read the full text.

Read the full text.

Obama is experiencing a dilemma with the reform that is at the very top of his agenda. On the one hand he would like to create better health care for the 45 million Americans who are not insured today. On the other hand it is a costly endeavor: at least 1000 billion dollars over ten years. Together with the deficit that Obama inherited from the previous administration, it is unlikely that he will be able to finance the reform without raising taxes for a great number of citizens. This has provided the opposition with ammo for thwarting Obama. The economic crisis and a very intense campaign against the reform has affected the public support for Obama’s health care reform – and for himself, as the approval rate for Obama has fallen to 52%.

And by the looks of it, it has also his reduced his authority in the very important task of creating peace talks in the Middle East. The Muslim and Arab worlds still remember Obama’s Cairo speech. For Obama the Israeli decision must have been most unwelcome.

Get more details.

This year’s Kristallen Seminarium takes place at the Hotel Rival at Mariatorget in Stockholm on Thursday 27 August from 08.30 – 17.00.

15.15
Keynote Joe Rospars
Joe Rospars, New Media Director för Barack Obamas presidentkampanj, kommer till Stockholm för att tala på Kristallen Seminarium. Kom och lyssna till mannen som alla refererar till när det gäller varumärkesbyggande, digital kommunikation, nya mediaplattformar och framgång.

Rospars är strategen som hjälpte den nya presidenten att vinna valet och det var just hans arbete med de nya medierna, som Joe och hans stab var först av alla med att utnyttja, som skapade en unik kommunikation och lojalitet med väljarna.

I det jobb som Rospars utvecklade för Obamas vinnande kampanj ingick design- och brandingarbete, utnyttjande av webben för både rörligt och textmaterial, mass-email och sms, samt online-reklam för att bland annat samla in pengar.

Visit the website for more information.

WhiteHouse.gov/LaRealidad incluye los hechos sobre lo que verdaderamente haría la reforma del seguro de salud para enfrentar los retos del sistema actual, y por supuesto, lo que no haría. Ya tenemos también un video en español:

Y el sitio ofrece subtítulos en español para todos los excelentes videos que ya están destacados en el sitio Reality Check. Para dejar claro que la reforma del seguro de salud ofrece mayor seguridad para ustedes, hemos incluído respuestas a preguntas que nos han hecho con frecuencia, y las ocho protecciones que se establecerían para los consumidores de seguro de salud.

Esta página también le permite acceso a herramientas fáciles de usar para compartir esta información con sus colegas, sus amigos, y su familia, para que los estadounidenses puedan tener un debate completo y sustantivo, basado en los hechos. Esperamos que les sea útil, y les agradecemos el haber tomado el tiempo para visitar el sitio.

Click here to read more and watch the video. 

Although his successful election relied to a great extent on his ability to mobilise young voters, yesterday he was speaking particularly to older Americans.  However, many people from a wide range of ages will benefit from these reforms. 

He spoke about the abuses of the system which currently go on.  Many of the things he spoke about are very widespread practices whereby people pay for insurance but find it does not cover them when they need to claim.  So if they cannot afford to pay for care – and most people can’t – they are out of luck.

What the President was speaking about were things that everybody knows but nobody talks about.  That is to say, nobody in power has spoken about these problems or done anything about them. 

He talked about changing the way we reward doctors.  Rewarding them for the quality of healthcare they provide for ongoing and chronic conditions, rather than for the number of times they see the same patients. 

He added that insurance needs to provide what you have paid for.  We need to have a sensible system.

Here in the UK, because we have socialised medicine, we do not have many of these problems.  We don’t find that when the time comes, the doctor is not paid for, or the hospital care is not paid for. 

But it’s not a perfect situation, as the system is basically bankrupt.

The President also pointed out that in the U.S., healthcare costs are soaring  far above the rate of inflation.  But it is possible to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare provided.  14,000 more people currently lose their healthcare on a daily basis in the United States.  And if we do nothing, the situation will only get worse.

I liked the fact that the President was talking dollars and cents, he was talking about doing what makes sense financially while improving the quality of care at the same time. 

He reckons 60% of the costs of these reforms can be covered by money which is already in the system, and although there are upfront costs of about a trillion dollars, there will be major savings in the long term. 

This is groundbreaking stuff and will clearly be unpopular in some circles.  There are many people who will want to see the current system continue, and will resist any attempt to reform the system because they are having it sweet. 

The President’s proposals are very courageous.  He seems to be continuing in his groove of making history, breaking new ground to improve the situation for as wide a group of people as possible.  I guess it’s true what they say about a new broom.

Yesterday US President Obama gave a speech in Accra, Ghana entitled, “A New Moment of Promise.”

Listen to the full speech in audio, read it in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, or Swahili.

(President Barack Obama meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Kremlin in Moscow,
Monday, July 6, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.)

Read the text from their joint press conference.

President Obama’s goal is to reset the United State’s relationship with Russia.

Here is an excerpt of Obama’s interview with the Russian media, Novaya Gazeta. Read the full interview.

Question: “Restarting” the relationship implies cooperating with Russia in those areas where it is possible. Does this mean weaker attention to Russia’s observation of civil rights and liberties, and to persecution against and murders of journalists? Specifically, to [the need to] apprehend and punish those who ordered and committed the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Of course not. I seek to reset relations with Russia because I believe that Americans and Russians have many common interests, interests that our governments recently have not pursued as actively as we could have. For instance, I believe that Americans and Russians both would benefit from fewer nuclear weapons in the world, greater control over nuclear materials around the world, a defeat of extremist elements in Afghanistan and Pakistan, an Iran that produces nuclear energy but not nuclear weapons, and a North Korea that refrains from launching missiles and exploding nuclear weapons and instead returns to the negotiating table. I also believe that Americans and Russians have a common interest in the development of rule of rule, the strengthening of democracy, and the protection of human rights. As I said in my inaugural address: “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” I then emphasized in my Cairo speech that “I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights.” These are ideas embraced by your president and your people. I agree with President Medvedev when he said that “Freedom is better than the absence of freedom.” So, I see no reason why we cannot aspire together to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as part of our “reset.”

Read the full text.

Read the full remarks.

Of course, were I in the US right now I would not have access to medical insurance. And I don’t just mean that I would have to pay a lot for it (though I would) but that I could not get coverage at all – this isn’t the first time my back has gone out, so any US insurer would consider this a pre-existing condition and my coverage would be denied. Since I took voluntary redundancy from my full time job back in February and started working free lance, I’ve been counting my blessings that I at least will never go bankrupt due to a health crisis.

But I wouldn’t suggest that the US adopt a UK style National Health System – the NHS does provide universal coverage but hasn’t been able to match other countries in terms of quality of care (although, the UK system does consistently beat the US one on most measures of health outcomes – at half the price! Bargain!).

Instead, I’d like to see a system that focusses heavily on reducing costs and achieving virtually if not completely universal access to health COVERAGE – who does delivery of care doesn’t have to change at all.

Our for-profit health system has made care in the US more expensive than anywhere else in the world WITHOUT a compensating rise in quality (read this excellent Atul Gawande article in the New Yorker for a better perspective on how and why this is so).

And most Americans now agree that something fundamental has to change – this is a big change from the 1990’s and means this is the best chance we’ve had to solve the problem in many a year.

I think it’s pretty clear something is going to happen in this area. But in legislation, as in needlepoint, the devil is in the details.

The bulk of the shouting is likely to be around what is constantly referred to as “the public option.” You may have heard this phrase bandied about and perhaps, like me, you had a vague sense what this was all about but were unsure specifically what it meant or how important it might be.

Well, as best I can figure out, the short version is this – healthcare reform has two basic goals:

1) Reducing costs.
2) Ensuring full universal (or near-universal) coverage.

Both are essential, and doing the former will not only greatly reduce the burden on those who currently have care, but will also make it much easier to achieve the latter.

Although the government could simply regulate strict conditions for existing private insurers (setting prices, for instance) this is a pretty market-unfriendly practice and may in fact ultimately result in not achieving the full measure of cost savings that would potentially be achievable. A better solution is to create market conditions that put strong pressure on private sector firms to be very innovative in finding cost savings as well as providing low cost and appealing options for those who are shut out of the private system.

That’s what the inclusion of a public plan will do. Because a national public plan can negotiate lower prices with providers it has a big advantage in finding cost savings.

There are lots of different ways of delivering this, however. Check out this hugely helpful Marc Ambinder article for more info:

For most advocates, the purpose of a public option is to create an “ideal” health insurance plan that can experiment, can decide to pay doctors what it wants, can use what Rep. Henry Waxman has called “creative tension” to compete with private plans, and one that will ultimately serve as a mean toward which all the private plans move. A strong public plan would force private plans to negotiate lower rates with doctors and hospitals, which would reduce health care costs. A “weak” public plan would provide some competitive pressure, but would not be big enough to force the private plans to drastically change their models. Between these two ends, there are many options. Here are five:

The President went on to say,  ”Long after our time on this Earth has passed, one word will still bring forth the pride and awe of men and women who will never meet the heroes who sit before us: D-Day”. 

My father fought in the war.  Although not at D-Day, he was part of the invasion force in Italy.  It is because of those men that I am alive today.  Those people are heroes to me. 

Yesterday, the First Lady graced London with her presence when she brought her girls to spend the day here, ending with taking them to see a performance of Elton John’s musical The Lion King. 

Another Elton John musical, Billy Elliott, has just won 10 Tony awards in New York, including Best Musical.  The show depicts events of the 1980s in Britain, when 3 million British people were made unemployed, and includes scenes of the miners’ strike.

Now, here in Britain, the head of the BNP has been elected as a Member of the European Parliament.  I don’t know whether that is why Sir Elton has stated he is “despondent” at the thought of returning to the UK.  For more on this, see What Can We Learn from Elton John? 

Sir Elton is said to have shed tears of joy when President Obama won the election. 

When a BNP member of the London Assembly was invited to the Queen’s garden party recently, as I wrote about on my Ancestral Energies blog, he decided to bring as his guest the head of the BNP.  Mr. BNP Head (forgive me, his name escapes me at the moment) eventually declined to attend, saying he did not want to embarrass the Queen.

I wonder if she would have embraced him as she did Michelle Obama. 

Now the same Mr. BNP Head has been elected as a Member of the European Parliament.  As I said in my blog, these are the same people we defeated in the war.  These people are Nazis. 

This is an insult to my father and all the veterans of the war.  It is an insult to all of us. 

The London Paper was full of letters yesterday stating that the BNP represents what British people want – an end to immigration. 

This is so frightening.  We need to learn from history.  Surely this is the message of the D-Day commemoration.

Mr. BNP Head has been pelted with eggs.  But this is not enough.  We need to pelt him with votes. 

In the UK, more and more people are voting for this far-right party.  Meanwhile, in the States, we have the first-ever Black President.  Draw your own conclusions.