Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was just sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on corruption charges.Blago was convicted back in June after a jury found him guilty of 17 separate felonies — including bribery and extortion — for trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.Blago apologized today during his sentencing hearing — claiming, “I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on all that’s happened … I’m here convicted of crimes and I am accepting of it, acknowledge it.”Blago added, “I am of course unbelievably sorry.”He has 90 days to turn himself in.
barack obama
The world is now reacting to the very sad news of Steve Jobs’ death. We are collecting the thoughts and condolences of people like Bill Gates, Larry Page, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and President Barack Obama himself.
But perhaps the most important reaction—apart from his family—is Steve Wozniak’s. according to the LA Times, he was “overwhelmed and could not get in touch with his emotions”. his only words: “People sometimes have goals in life. Steve Jobs exceeded every goal he ever set for himself.”
Steve Jobs’ Family
Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family.
In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who have shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve’s illness; a website will be provided for those who wish to offer tributes and memories.
We are grateful for the support and kindness of those who share our feelings for Steve. We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief.
Andy Hertzfeld, Macintosh Team
Steve Jobs was my friend and hero for over thirty years. The Apple II changed my life before I met him, and working closely with him to create the original Macintosh was the high point of my career, if not my entire life. Steve was more than the greatest business person of his generation, he was a passionate artist who poured his soul into his work. I will miss him terribly, even though he will live on in Apple products for many years to come.
former Apple Evangelist Guy Kawasaki, Macintosh Team
May Steve rest in peace. my deepest sympathy to his loved ones. no CEO has done more for his customers, employees, and shareholders than Steve.
He changed the world—my world, your world, the entire world. his words to live by: “There must be a better way.”
You changed our lives, Steve, and you showed us that there is a better way…we will miss you.
Ronald Wayne, co-founder Apple Computer Company
Steve was one of a kind, and will truly be missed.
President Barack Obama
Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.
The world has lost a visionary. and there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve’s wife Laurene, his family, and all those who loved him.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates
I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.
Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.
For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.
Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.
No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
I want to express my deepest condolences at the passing of Steve Jobs, one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary. my heart goes out to his family, everyone at Apple and everyone who has been touched by his work.
Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen
My condolences to Steve Jobs’ family and friends. We’ve lost a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products. Steve fought a long battle against tough odds in a very brave way. He kept doing amazing things in the face of all that adversity. as someone who has had his own medical challenges, I couldn’t help but be encouraged by how he persevered.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.
Google CEO Larry Page
I am very, very sad to hear the news about Steve. He was a great man with incredible achievements and amazing brilliance. He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it. his focus on the user experience above all else has always been an inspiration to me. He was very kind to reach out to me as I became CEO of Google and spend time offering his advice and knowledge even though he was not at all well. my thoughts and Google’s are with his family and the whole Apple family.
Google Co-founder Sergey Brin
From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no farther than Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the macbook I am writing this on right now). and I have witnessed it in person the few times we have met. on behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much. my condolences to family, friends, and colleagues at Apple.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt
Today is very sad for all of us. Steve defined a generation of style and technology that’s unlikely to be matched again. Steve was so charismatically brilliant that he inspired people to do the impossible, and he will be remembered as the greatest computer innovator in history.
Disney CEO Bob Iger
Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. his legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. it will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed and the culture he defined. Steve was such an ‘original,’ with a thoroughly creative, imaginative mind that defined an era. Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started. with his passing the world has lost a rare original, Disney has lost a member of our family, and I have lost a great friend.
News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch
Today, we lost one of the most influential thinkers, creators and entrepreneurs of all time. Steve Jobs was simply the greatest CEO of his generation. While I am deeply saddened by his passing, I’m reminded of the stunning impact he had in revolutionizing the way people consume media and entertainment. my heart goes out to his family and to everyone who had the opportunity to work beside him in bringing his many visions to life.
Dell CEO Michael Dell
Today the world lost a visionary leader, the technology industry lost an iconic legend and I lost a friend and fellow founder. The legacy of Steve Jobs will be remembered for generations to come.”
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo
Once in a rare while, somebody comes along who doesnt just raise the bar, they create an entirely new standard of measurement.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev
People like Steve Jobs change our world. my sincere condolences to his loved ones and to everyone who admired his intellect and talent.
Stephen Fry
Woke to the news of Steve Jobs’s death. He changed the world. I knew him a little and admired him entirely. love to Apple and his family.
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PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN MESSAGE TO STEVE IN THE COMMENTS
In the summer of 2008, John McCain unveiled a new slogan to use against Barack Obama: “Country First.” The phrase was meant to convey the former P.O.W.s’ patriotism and heroism. but it also sought to cast Obama as interested in personal advancement at the expense of America’s interests, especially when it came to “support[ing] the troops” in Iraq. McCain and his surrogates specifically argued that the Arizonan had defied his own party when necessary to serve America’s greater interest, and that Obama had not.
Three years later, Obama is borrowing the same theme from his former rival. Obama’s Labor Day speech in Detroit contained this key passage:
So I’m going to propose ways to put America back to work that both parties can agree to, because I still believe both parties can work together to solve our problems. And given the urgency of this moment, given the hardship that many people are facing, folks have got to get together.
But we’re not going to wait for them. We’re going to see if we’ve got some straight shooters in Congress. We’re going to see if congressional Republicans will put country before party. We’ll give them a plan, and then we’ll say, do you want to create jobs? Then put our construction workers back to work rebuilding America. do you want to help our companies succeed? Open up new markets for them to sell their products. you want — you say you’re the party of tax cuts? well then, prove you’ll fight just as hard for tax cuts for middle-class families as you do for oil companies and the most affluent Americans. (Applause.) show us what you got.
Like McCain before him, Obama is appealing to the public’s disdain for knee-jerk partisanship. The intensity these days may be on the political margins, but most Americans don’t see compromise as a dirty word. They want results.
It sounds like we’re going to hear more about “country before party” in Obama’s jobs speech Thursday night, and possibly well into the 2012 campaign. we may hear less about “Winning the Future,” a gentler, less confrontational phrase at the heart of in Obama’s January State of the Union address, and which once seemed a likely pick for his re-election slogan. but Obama’s Winning the Future speech actually laid the groundwork for his new attacks on Republicans. “What comes of this moment is up to us,” Obama said in January. “What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.” back then, Obama was appealing for bipartisanship and collegiality. Today, Obama is building the case that he extended his hand, and Republicans sank their fangs into it.
“Country First” wasn’t enough to sell the American people on John McCain, though there are plenty of reasons why he lost in 2008. more ominous, perhaps, is that this angle of attack isn’t so different from the case Obama has made against the GOP for more than a year now: That “[g]ridlock as a political strategy is destructive to the country.” His latest iteration of that theme is a little sharper and a little more memorable. but ultimately it’s not words that will save Obama. It’s jobs. And right now, there’s precious little sign of those on the dark American horizon.
Boarded-up shops and a nearly empty parking lot provided the backdrop for former Masschusetts' Gov. Mitt Romney’s visit today to a struggling shopping center near the intersection of Victory and Laurel Canyon boulevards.
Romney, presumed to be among the leading Republican contenders for the presidency in 2012, said President Barack Obama’s economic policies have contributed to the decline of this and many other malls across America.
“Proposing raising taxes did not put people back to work. Obamacare made it less likely for employers to want to hire people. the talk about cap-and-trade and higher energy costs made it less likely for people to want to invest here,” Romney said.
Dozens of reporters surrounded Romney, along with Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who represents the area.
“I’m disappointed he chose to use my neighborhood and one of my top economic priorities as essentially movie set for his production today,” Krevkorian said in response to a reporter’s question.
Krekorian, like just about everybody else on the L.A. City Council, is a Democrat. he said millions of federal stimulus dollars have helped his area maintain a medical clinic, law enforcement and other needs. he said it’s not fair of Romney to blame the president for a long-struggling mall.
“It’s in the state that it’s in today because of more than a decade of economic decline,” Krekorian said.
Several dozen Romney supporters showed up, too. Irene DeBlasio of Studio City said she likes the former Massachusetts governor because he was a businessman who “knows about the bottom line.” she also noted another reason.
“He’s got five sons, a beautiful wife, lots of grandchildren. He’s a typical American.” Unlike, DeBlasio said, Obama.
“Oh, I think he’s ghastly. I think he’s destroying the country. I think all his policies are anti-American, socialist, borderline communist manifesto,” she said.
Many Republicans seem to agree that Obama’s got to go, but they’re far from consensus on who ought to replace him.
Mike Schroeder, an Orange County resident who is the former chair of the state GOP, was Romney’s political director in California during the last election. he won’t be supporting him this time around, citing Romney’s “disorganized” 2008 campaign and the healthcare plan Romney enacted in Massachusetts, which had been cited frequently by the president during his bid for national healthcare reform.
Shawn Steele, a Republican National committeeman from L.A., noted that other prominent Orange County Republicans who once supported Romney last week hosted an event for Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “Now they’re co-hosting Rick Perry. that in itself is a story. when you have the Orange County machinery flipping from one candidate to another, that is something very significant,” Steele said.
Perry was also in Los Angeles today at a hotel in the Century City neighborhood for an event coordinated by influential fundraiser Renee Croce, who helped raise millions of dollars for former California Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pete Wilson. Perry has been traveling the nation to gauge his support among party loyalists, elected officials and donors, while fashioning the framework of what could become a national campaign.
Perry is attending more private meetings in California this week, and Steele thinks the Texan will announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president next month.
Among Republicans in the contest, Romney leads the money race and reported an $18.4 million haul in the second quarter.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today told US President Barack Obama that Tel Aviv cannot return to "indefensible" 1967 borders, demanding that Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas choose between unity with Hamas and peace with the Jewish state.
The meeting between Obama and Netanyahu came a day after US president said the borders of Israel and Palestineshould be based on the 1967 lines.
Netanyahu said for there to be peace, the Palestinians will have to accept some basic realities.
"Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, but it cannot go back to the 1967 lines, because theselines are indefensible," he said in a joint media availability with Obama at the Oval Office.
"they do not take into account certain demographic changes on the ground that have taken place over the last 44 years."
"Remember that before 1967, Israel was all of 9 miles wide — half the width of the Washington Beltway. and these were not the boundaries of peace; they were the boundaries of repeated wars, because the attack on Israel was so attractive from them. So we can't go back to those indefensible lines," Netanyahu said.
"I think President Abbas has a simple choice. he has to decide if he negotiates or keeps his pact with Hamas, ormakes peace with Israel. and I can only express what I said to you just now: that I hope he makes the choice, the rightchoice, of choosing peace with Israel," he said.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the two leaders had long one-o-one meeting during which they discussedthe issues related to the peace process.
"We discussed in depth the principles that I laid out yesterday, the belief that our ultimate goal has to be a secure Israeli state, a Jewish state, living side by side in peace and security with a contiguous, functioning and effective Palestinian state," Obama told reporters.
"Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, and that's going to happen between friends," he said.
"but what we are in complete accord about is that a true peace can only occur if the ultimate resolution allows Israel to defend itself against threats and that Israel's security will remain paramount in US evaluations of anyprospective peace deal. I said that yesterday in the speech, and I continue to believe it," he said.
"I think that it is possible for us to shape a deal that allows Israel to secure itself, not to be vulnerable, but also allows it to resolve what has obviously been a wrenching issue for both peoples for decades now," Obama said.
"I also pointed out, as I said in the speech yesterday, that it is very difficult for Israel to be expected to negotiate in a serious way with a party that refuses acknowledge its right to exist. and so for that reason, I think the Palestinians are going to have to answer some very difficult questions about this agreement that's been made between Fatah and Hamas," he said.
Israel cannot return to ‘indefensible’ 1967 borders: Benjamin Netanyahu
A while ago I saw a spoof (either on madtv or SNL) of Conservative stations doing news flashes about Barack Obama doing everyday things, spliced in between a fake program where celebrities get together and built IKEA furniture (the celebrities were Julie Andrews and the Dalai Llama). Does anyone have a link? I’ve been looking for it for weeks.
Where is the Barack Obama News Flash with Julie Andrews sketch?
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he’s starting to doubt whether Speaker John Boehner wants to reach a deal and avoid a government shutdown.
“Are you starting to question whether Speaker Boehner truly wants a deal?” a reporter asked Reid Thursday.
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“Yes I am,” Reid responded.
It was one of the first public breaks between the two party leaders since negotiations began at the end of March.
Reid and other top Senate Democrats have repeatedly said they believed Boehner was acting in good faith at the negotiating table.
Reid, Boehner and President Barack Obama are slated to meet again at the White House at 1 p.m., just less than 14 hours after Obama addressed the media in the White House briefing room after breaking from their last meeting.
Reid said earlier on Thursday that he was not “nearly as optimistic” about a deal as he had been last night.
When it comes to Barack Obama’s approval rating, his ratings have usually been between 50% and 60%. when you ask registered voters who are Democrat and Republican, about 80% of Democrats approve of Obama and over 80% of Republicans disapprove of Obama performance. is there a reason why Democrats highly approve of Obama and why Republicans disapprove of Obama?
Why is Barack Obama’s approval ratings high with Democrats and not with Republicans?
United States President Barack Obama got 12 stitches in upper lip after hit while playing basketball at Fort McNair, Washington, Friday (11/26/2010) local time. at that time, Obama playing basketball with friends and their families who gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Three hours after the incident, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs issued a statement. “He accidentally hit on his lip, the president treated directly by the White House medical team, he received 12 stitches,” Gibbs said.
According to Gibbs, Obama was drugged when his lips sewn. Stitch it will cause a scar on his lip.
Obama looks out of the gym at Fort McNair, this building was Obama favorite, after being there about 90 minutes.
Obama hit by one of his friends, Rey Decerega who played as an opposing player. “I got a lesson today, the president a formidable opponent and very sportive,” Decerega said, who works at the Hispanic Caucus Institute. “I really enjoy playing basketball with him, I am sure he will soon return to the field.”
If ya do a little research you may find that Obama and the Bilderberg Group are very much so affiliated, so do you think that he will be their puppet for the next four years… or will they back an equally nefarious candidate such as McCain….?
Is Barack Obama the presidential choice of the Bilderberg Group?
