sunday

Sunday’s schedule in Rio de Janeiro includes a tour of Ciudad de Deus Favela (the “City of God” made famous in 2002 movie), a speech on U.S.-Brazil relations, and a tour of Rio’s famous statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain.

I might be a little slower updating the blog tomorrow, but I’ll get there in the end 😉

Night everyone.

Live here

india says: “wtf?”

I know, you won’t like seeing a video of the bird-brain-bozo here, but this one’s worth seeing, it completely cracked me up. Watch the faces of the audience in India as she talks about how she would have handled Libya (you know, that ‘little South American country ruled by Kernull Gadaffy Duck’). It’s like the reaction of an audience to a comedian whose jokes just aren’t very funny. And keep an eye on the guy putting on his glasses, at 0:58 (top right), he can’t take any more of the twaddle, so he takes out his phone. He probably dialed 911.

Honest, she doesn’t even make me mad any more. She’s just an idiot, and even most right-wingers are beginning to realize it.

(Ha, even Politico seemed to find it all a bit embarrassing: She struggled to provide pointed answers to several of interviewer Aroon Purie’s questions on foreign affairs.. Purie, who introduced her to the gathering, poked fun at Palin’s “creative vocabulary” and her polarizing place in American politics in his introduction of the former governor.

He frequently made clear that not everyone in the United States has a positive view of the former Alaska governor. “Either you love her or hate her,” he said.

Alluding to Palin’s penchant for sometimes venturing into unique terminology, Purie said “if I may be forgiven for saying so, she has a creative vocabulary. “Governor Palin, I hope you don’t refudiate me,” he said, smirking to an amused crowd.)

Update: Thank you Sim for posting this video in the comments – hopefully, in time, I’ll be able to wash the coffee spray off my computer screen:

😆

rio, bravo

President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha during their arrival in Rio de Janeiro, March 19

President Obama, Rio de Janeiro’s Governor and Mayor, Sergio Cabral and Eduardo Paes, look at Paes’ son, Bernardo

‘wise’

President Obama arrives to make a statement authorizing limited military action against Libya, March 19

UK Independent: The Paris summit yesterday of the 10-nation coalition of the willing, including the Arab League, backed by a United Nations resolution authorising the use of force to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, marks a triumph of diplomacy.

Inevitably, it is marred by the besetting fault of such negotiations: it has taken too long for the world community to come to this point …. but that is the price of unity. Far better to have the Arab League call for a no-fly zone and the UN respond than to have the rich Western nations of Nato decide what is good for north Africa.

…Barack Obama made it clear last week that US troops would not be deployed in Libya and the UN resolution specifically excludes “a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory”. President Obama, incidentally, has been criticised in recent weeks for his apparent uncertainty and lack of assertion. We do not join in that criticism. It is wise that the United States should allow European and Arab states to take the lead in the Mediterranean theatre, while supporting the rule of law under the aegis of the UN.

…The no-fly zone may seem inadequate to the task of protecting the Libyan people, but, however difficult it may be to accept, it may be that the best we can hope for is that the international community blunts the worst excesses of Gaddafi’s brutality.

Full article here

hmm, not sure. john mccain?

President Barack Obama is seen from behind during the second meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff at the Palacio do Alvorada in Brasilia, March 19

bye, brasilia

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama depart Brasilia Air Base, March 19, en route to Rio de Janeiro

meet the family

President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia meet Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff at Palacio do Alvorada, March 19

statements on libya (saturday)

President Barack Obama works on his statement concerning the situation in Libya with, from left, Chief of Staff Bill Daley, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes, in Brasilia, Brazil, March 19, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Statement later in the day:

down to business

President Obama speaks as Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff looks on during a meeting with business people at Itamaraty Palace, Brasilia

President Obama steps on stage to deliver remarks at a US-Brazil CEO summit at Tryp Convention 21 Center in Brasilia

Text of the President’s speech here

special guests

I hope your Portguese is better than mine 😕

WFP: First lady Michelle Obama met with about 50 Brazilian youth ambassadors, took in a martial arts-dance presentation and was wowed by a group of female samba drummers during the first day of her and President Barack Obama’s five-day tour of Latin America.

Waving and smiling as she entered an open-air space in a restaurant shaded by palm tress, Michelle Obama electrified the crowd of youngsters, many of whom have taken part in a State Department program that sends them to the U.S. for cultural exchanges.

“Bom dia! Is that it? That’s all I have, unfortunately,” Obama said as she greeted the group with the Portuguese phrase for “good morning,” drawing applause and laughter as she confessed her poor knowledge of the language.

Obama, accompanied by daughters Sasha and Malia, and her mother Marian Robinson, then drilled home a message she has repeated to youngsters around the world: Education and trying to understand other cultures is one of the best cures for some of the globe’s ills.

…Icaro Soares Alves, 19, from the jungle city of Manaus, met Michelle Obama last year in Washington when he took part in the exchange program.

“This is one of the most important moments of my life, to meet her again,” he said. “She breaks all the stereotypes that American people are cold. With her smile and embrace she is so welcoming. I think she must have a little Brazilian in her.”

More here

First lady Michelle Obama with youths at Oca da Tribo restaurant in Brasilia. Michelle Obama, her two daughters Sasha and Malia, her mother Marian Robinson, the girls’ godmother, Eleanor Kaye Wilson, and Guisela Shannon, wife of U.S. Ambassador Thomas Shannon attended cultural performances with young Brazilians, many from disadvantaged backgrounds who have participated in a range of U.S. sponsored exchange and leadership development programs.