The Fabric of America
President Obama travels to Philadelphia mid-week all in efforts to spur economic growth and create jobs in the bad economy. Philadelphia currently faces a 12 percent unemployment rate. Pennsylvania Congressman Chaka Fattah welcomes the Obama plan, he feels will help his residents in the areas of innovation and a green economy. Fattah says this is what the demand for the future will be and people must educare themselves with a college degrees and some sort of gradute studies degee to compete.
Egyptian TV said that over 3,200 people had been detained following widespread demonstrations and looting in major cities across Egypt over the past week.
The State Department is prepared to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens from Egypt on chartered planes, but it is relying largely on friends and families in the U.S. to relay that information to…
The State Department is prepared to evacuate thousands of U.S. citizens from Egypt on chartered planes, but is relying largely on friends and families in the U.S. to relay that information to stranded Americans.
Assistant Secretary of State Janice Jacobs told reporters Sunday that she expects it will take several flights over the coming days to handle the number of Americans who want to leave Egypt.
Jacobs acknowledged that Internet interruptions in Egypt are making it difficult for Americans there to get information about the evacuations. But she said they have been able to get information from people in the United States who do have access to State Department and embassy websites.
The charters will begin Monday from Cairo and will fly to Europe. Jacobs said the U.S. is looking at Athens, Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; and Nicosia, Cyprus as destinations. So far, she said, Americans have been able to get taxis, but she said people should wait until tomorrow before they try to go to the airport to get one of the charter flights.
Jacobs, who’s in charge of consular affairs, said the U.S. will have enough flights to take out all American citizens and dependents who want to leave. And the U.S. may also send charter planes to other cities in Egypt, such as Luxor, if there are a number of Americans stranded there. She said Americans with tickets on commercial airlines should first contact those carriers about getting out.
Americans taking the charter will be billed for the cost of the flight and will need to make their own travel arrangements home after arriving in Europe.
According to the State Department there are about 52,000 Americans registered with the embassy in Cairo. Officials noted, however, that many people don’t register (or de-register when they leave) and some Americans in Egypt may not want to leave.
Americans looking for information on the flights should monitor the State Department and embassy websites or send an e-mail to egyptemergencyusc@state.gov. They can also call toll-free, 1-888-407-4747, from within the U.S. and Canada. From outside the U.S. and Canada people can call 1-202-501-4444.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki dispatched his presidential plane to Egypt to pick up Iraqi citizens, and the transport ministry ordered free transportation for Iraqis living in Egypt on Iraqi Airways planes, a ministry spokesman said.
Witnesses reported scenes of chaos at Cairo Airport, as people, including Egyptians, tried to catch a decreasing number of flights.
For those Egyptians who had no hope of getting out, the increasing danger was lawlessness and looting.
POLITICO
Though he is stepping away from the podium, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has certainly made his mark during his two-year tenure as the White House mouthpiece. (Gibbs will be replaced by Jay Carney, communications director for Vice President Joe Biden.)
Besides his professional responsibilities as the go-between for the Obama administration and the press corps, Gibbs will also be remembered for his devotion to Auburn football, his mix of pastel ties and his Southern charm. (Of course, he wasn’t always polite – who can forget the foot-in-the door moment in India?)
In honor of his departure, POLITICO has compiled a list of some of the outgoing press secretary’s memorable moments and a handful of notable Gibbs-isms:
Favorite way to lead into an answer: “Look” or “Well, look … ”
Signature accessories: Pastel-hued ties and pink dress shirts
Often-uttered word and phrase: “I don’t want to get ahead of the president.”
… but when in a less chipper mood, it’s: “I appreciate the opportunity to speculate, but … ”
Gets ribbed for: His Southern drawl. Gibbs is known for entering a room and saying, “How are yew?” in his Alabama twang.
Most memorable public spat: Gibbs had a heated moment last fall with “Fox and Friends” co-anchor Gretchen Carlson about the Iraq war. “Gretchen, I don’t know whether this is you actually interviewing me or just a tape of you looping the same question over and over,” Gibbs said of the number of times Carlson asked him whether Obama would credit President Bush for his role in Iraq.
Favorite way to blow off steam: A ride on his “sweet new Trek bike,” as he once tweeted.
The Gibbs we never thought we’d see:
1) Wearing a Canadian hockey jersey while briefing the White House press corps after losing a bet. He took it off moments later to show off the U.S. team jersey he was hiding underneath. “I’m a little warm,” he told reporters.
2) Channeling a school teacher by confiscating Human Events’s John Gizzi’s cell phone after it rang twice during a briefing. He then opened a door and threw the buzzing phone into the press office as reporters roared in laughter. “I made the determination that the illumination of the sound was distracting to the briefing as the press secretary to the president of the United States,” Gibbs said, chuckling. Moments later, he teasingly chided CBS’s Bill Plante after his phone also went off mid-briefing. “You too?”
3) Hitting the water in a dunk tank while wearing gym clothes (courtesy Plante and the AP’s Ben Feller) during a press event before a Hawaiian luau on the South Lawn. After he dried off, Gibbs joked, “We need to get one of these for the briefing room.”
4) A gambling man: Gibbs won a $50 bet against American Urban Radio Network’s April Ryan regarding comments made during a press briefing. He told POLITICO that he would use his big payout to buy his brother a birthday present.
Most pro-press moment: The press secretary stuck his foot out to prevent Indian security officials from closing a door on eight members of the White House press corps who were set to cover a meeting between Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Most aww-inducing moment: When he broke the news of his departure, Gibbs mentioned his son, Ethan: “There’s a little boy who probably needs a ride to school every now and then.”
Best parody: Gibbs took a crack at Sarah Palin after she was critiqued for writing talking points on her hand at the first National Tea Party Conference in Nashville. The press secretary looked at his own ink-stained palm and said, “I wrote a few things down. I wrote eggs, milk and bread. I crossed out bread. Just so I can make pancakes for Ethan if it snows. Then I wrote down ‘hope and change,’ just in case I forgot that.”
The photo he couldn’t live down: Gibbs’s official North Carolina State soccer team photo hangs in the White House press office and features hearts drawn around his head. The snapshot has garnered laughs from many, including President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Moving forward looking at the next two years, the President is focusing on competitiveness and the global economy.
For the past few weeks The White House has been working on themes of the President’s State of the Union speech set for Tuesday at 9 pm. Friday in New York President Obama carried some of the themes of the State of the Union. Sources contend the president will discuss Health Care and competativeness that translates into the economy with education, sciences and technology. The President will address Gabby Giffords and the Ariozona shooting. Tones of civility and bipartisonship and finding common ground will have a major emphasis.