Kerry urges Egypt to take difficult economic steps;
opposition figures skip meetings

U.S. lawmakers question military aid to Egypt
citing concerns about Israel



Gpa

Dow hits record high as markets are undaunted by tepid economic growth, political gridlock

The benchmark Dow Jones industrial average reached an Tuesday, underscoring the contrast between corporate America’s rapid recovery since the financial crisis and the rest of the country’s ongoing struggle to regain its footing.

all-time high



White House goes silent on Dow record high — not always so quiet on stock market

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney declined to weigh in on the Dow hitting an all-time high on Tuesday, a development clashing with President Obama’s assertion that across-the-board spending cuts would imperil the economy.

“I don’t comment on markets,”

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White House teaching how democracy works
With canceled tours

White House suspends public tours, but first family trips in full swing

Visitors to the nation's capital looking for a White House public tour are out of luck starting this weekend, courtesy of what the Secret Service says is its own decision to deal with the sequester cuts.

But while the agency said it needed to pull officers off the tours for more pressing assignments, the budget ax didn't swing early or deep enough to curtail a host of recent Secret Service-chaperoned trips like President Obama's much-discussed Florida golf outing with Tiger Woods and first lady Michelle Obama's high-profile multi-city media appearances.

Obama's pricey golf outings have been a particular target for Republicans who see them as examples of what they say are the administration's rather selective concerns with running up the tab of Secret Service resources. On March 5, Texas Rep. Louis Gohmert filed an amendment to a House resolution that would prohibit federal funds from being spent on Obama's golf trips until public tours of the White House resumed.

Gohmert referenced press reports pegging the cost of a recent Florida golf outing Obama took with Tiger Woods at $1 million. He also cited press reports saying 341 federal workers could have been spared furloughs if Obama had stayed home.

"The president's travel expenses alone, for the golfing outing with Tiger Woods, would pay for a year of White House visits," Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer said Thursday. "So I suggest that perhaps he curtail the travel."

The price tag and draw on Secret Service resources involving promotional campaigns like Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative is less clear.

The Secret Service does not usually reveal how many agents and other resources are assigned to protective missions so it's not known just how much it cost taxpayers to ferry the first lady to events like her dance routine on Jimmy Fallon's show -- the highlight of a Feb. 22 media blitz in New York -- or her Feb. 27-28 visit to Mississippi, Missouri and her hometown of Chicago.

Those trips would all have involved Secret Service details traveling with the first lady, as well as advance work by teams of agents on location.

When asked by FoxNews.com if the first lady's office or schedule would be affected by the sequester, the White House issued a 100-word statement that made no mention of any specific cuts that might affect Michelle Obama's activities -- while making a generic reference to cuts affecting the 'Executive Office of the President,' which houses the first lady's office.

Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest, asked how the White House was cutting back, on Friday said there would be furloughs and pay cuts.

On the decision to close the tours, Press Secretary Jay Carney a day earlier said "the President and the first lady have throughout the time that they've been here made extraordinary efforts to make this the people's house, and it is extremely unfortunate that we have a situation like the sequester that compels the kinds of tradeoffs and decisions that this represents."

It's also not clear how many Secret Service agents and resources were dedicated to a recent New York visit by 14-year-old Malia Obama, who was spotted in the Big Apple shortly after President Obama signed off on the sequester.

How much overtime these types of assignments cost the Secret Service may be an area of concern. Donovan told FoxNews.com that overtime costs factored into the decision to shut down the White House tours. By taking the 30 officers involved in the tours and assigning them to high-priority security posts, officers normally on those duties can log fewer hours -- in turn saving the Secret Service money.

"It reduces overtime costs overall for us," Donovan said.

The tours will not be rescheduled and will stay frozen until further notice.

That's bad news for groups like the sixth graders at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Iowa, who had been planning to take the White House tour on March 16. Fourteen students from that group and their teacher on Thursday took their frustrations to Facebook. In a web video, they held up handmade posters and chanted, 'The White House is our house."

Some Republicans in Congress expressed their displeasure with the cuts more forcefully. "Canceling all self-guided White House tours is the latest shameless political stunt by the president, who is twisting basic government efficiency into an extreme consequence," Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., said in a statement March 5.

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North Korea Threatens Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike
Against U.S.



U.S. Fully Capable Of Defending Against North Korea Missile Attack,
White House Says


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Gpa

The "financial genius" the rino Governor in Michigan appointed As "Emergency Manager" of New Fallujahs mess brought about by their union controlled liberal black leadership has tax liens on his own residence!!!!!
Never mind, he's still a "financial genius" since he is "black!"

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Koski:
The "financial genius" the rino Governor in Michigan appointed As "Emergency Manager" of New Fallujahs mess brought about by their union controlled liberal black leadership has tax liens on his own residence!!!!!
Never mind, he's still a "financial genius" since he is "black!"

WTF? ranting of a Mad man!!!!!!!!!!!!

quote:

WTF? ranting of a Mad man!!!!!!!!!!!!

Call him what you want but there is a lot of truth in that post.

The duped boob IMBECILES have a major problem with TRUTH and FACTS!!!!!
Now the whack job left-winger, Bill whatever on hbo, is threatening to leave his left-wing buddy BIG TAXERS and abandon the fruits-an-nuts state!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Mike English:

quote:

WTF? ranting of a Mad man!!!!!!!!!!!!

Call him what you want but there is a lot of truth in that post.

Really? Read it again seems pretty incoherent to me!! And just a bit racist!

quote:

Originally posted by 524vette:
QUOTE]WTF? ranting of a Mad man!!!!!!!!!!!!

WTF? ranting of a A-S-S-H-O-L-E!!!!!!!!!!

quote:

And just a bit racist!

People have the right to like or dislike whom ever they want for whatever reason. Fat, short, tall, red, black, yellow..... It's a matter of personal preference, it's how we form opinions. Forget the higher moral ground of political correctness. As long as no one is being harmed it's just words and a matter of individual freedom. He condemns on race you condemn on opinion. You're one in the same actually.

President Obama says Palestinians deserve an independent and sovereign state and an end to occupation by Israel. Obama spoke at a news conference in the West Bank with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Obama pleads for renewed Mideast peace talks

Gpa

After a nearly two-week closure, Cyprus banks will reopen Thursday with limits of 300 euros ($383) per day on withdrawals. The European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed with Cyprus on Monday on the conditions for a loan of $13 billion to the troubled country. The bank restructuring has sparked anti-austerity protests in Nicosia

G4S Readies Guards as Cypriot Banks Prepare to Open

Russia's support for Cyprus' seizures of deposits may mean big money already out

300 euros ($383) per day


Gpa

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea warned Seoul on Saturday that the Korean Peninsula had entered "a state of war" and threatened to shut down a border factory complex that's the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

North Korea Reportedly Entering 'State Of War' Against South Korea


The latest round of threats exchanged by North Korea and the United States is dragging on longer and taking on a more virulent tone than in the past, provoking deep concerns among American officials and their allies.
Aggressive talk from North Korea concerns U.S. leaders

US warns North Korea of increased isolation if threats escalate further

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N. Korea approves nuclear strike on United States

U.S. to deploy anti-missile system to Guam

Gpa

Pentagon Official: US 'Rhetoric
Pentagon Official: US 'Rhetoric

N. Korea warns foreigners in the South should make plans to evacuate

does not want to see foreigners in South Korea

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Gpa

Being "totus's" golfing buddy and GWB (golfing while black) sure paid off for the sex fiend at the Masters yesterday!!!!!
Anybody else would have been disqualified for signing an incorrect score card but that didn't happen even though he confessed to what he'd done after the round!!!!!
What the Hell was the official on that hole doing? Most likely ogling the latest white ditz going after the cash!!!!!