Free Republic

Vacation Gal is still busy travelling around the world as we all know. In this episode, Vacation Gal starts in Detroit, some various domestic stops, a visit to the One Nation protest in D.C., a quick stop in Africa and then on to India. Be sure to visit the original threads: First was 'Tourist Guy' followed by 'Looter Guy' and now introducing: 'Vacation Gal!' 'Vacation Gal' Part II (There she goes again!) See the original video on youtube of 'Vacation Gal' and bump it! Pinging all photoshoppers, poets, and friendly snarkers to join the fun!   Please keep comments and...

(Reuters) - India fears separatists in Kashmir could stage attacks during the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to draw global attention to a region where a two-decade old revolt against New Delhi has revived this year. Home Secretary Gopal Pillai on Wednesday told CNN-IBN television on Wednesday that the country was on alert to prevent attacks, such as the killing of 35 Sikhs in Kashmir by militants in 2000, when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton visited India. "That's the type of fear we have, that innocent civilians will be killed," said Pillai, the top internal security official. "Definitely they (separatists)...

The American Sikh community has said that President Barack Obama is not visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar because he harbours fears of negative image fallout with him being partially Muslim by birth. Refusing to buy the White House explanation that India is a huge country and that it would not be possible for the president to take on too many events during his four-day visit from November 6 to 9, American Sikhs said they could not accept such a view. "I'm not really buying it. I think the administration has been struggling with the false accusation that the president...

Obama Asia trip no slap to Pakistan, China: aides By Patricia Zengerle Patricia Zengerle Wed Oct 27, 5:54 pm ET .WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's upcoming trip to India and other Asian countries should not be taken as a slap against India's archrival Pakistan or any other country, including China, aides said on Wednesday. Obama leaves on November 5 on a 10-day trip to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. Obama will start the trip with 3-1/2 days in India, the longest foreign stop of his presidency. "India is a cornerstone of our broader Asia approach," William Burns, undersecretary...

A teleprompter will be in use for the first time in the Central Hall of Parliament when US President Barack Obama addresses MPs on November eight. As per the tentative programme being worked out, the address by Obama, who once said that "America has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi", would not be for more than 20 minutes. The president's programme in Parliament House complex itself will be less than an hour affair, Parliament sources said today. It is scheduled to start at 5pm. The programme will feature a welcome speech by vice president Hamid Ansari and a...

Elaborate security arrangements The presidential entourage will have 40 aircraft, including the Air Force One that will ferry the president. There will be six armoured cars, including four Barack Mobiles and a Cadillac.

The Taj is shutting its doors to other guests as it readies itself for its most important one. But the arrival of Barack Obama doesn’t have the hotel’s staff excited. Reason? For the two days the US president and his entourage will be at the Taj, the staff will be under virtual house arrest. Worse, they can’t keep their mobile phones with them... all 570 rooms in the hotel have been booked for the duration of Obama’s visit... The rooms adjacent, above and below the presidential suit will be occupied by FBI agents — 700 of whom will accompany the...

US President Barack Obama's trip to India next month is set to be the biggest ever by any US president in terms of the protocol and logistics. Headlines Today accessed the details of elaborate arrangements that will be in place to guard Obama during his three-day trip beginning on November 6. He will be accompanied by US first lady Micehlle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha. Earlier, Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia were not to be part of the trip. But sources revealed that Michelle's opinion prevailed and now the girls would accompany the first American couple to India....

The entourage will be the biggest ever in terms of logistics and manpower for any US president. The president himself will be ferried around in a black Cadillac - dubbed 'Barack Mobile' - which has its own built in communications centre - to enable Obama to be in touch with the White House, US vice president and the US strategic command The car also has the US nuke launch codes and the nuclear switch for the president. It can also withstand a chemical or germ warfare or even a bomb attack. Obama will be accompanied on the trip by US...

New Delhi, November 1, 2010: Not an inch of the ITC Maurya Sheraton will be without surveillance when US President Barack Obama arrives for a two – night stay. The luxury hotel is swarming with Delhi Police commandos a week before he checks in with wife Michelle. Obama arrives for a Nov 7 – 9 stay at the Presidential Suite of the south – west Delhi hotel and security is visibly tight even though police and hotel staff refuse to divulge details. Police commandos in combat gear have been stationed in Mercedes vans. Also fortifying the hotel are private guards...

86% of the population of India lives on under $2 a day examiner.com According to New Delhi Television, it is estimated that in his upcoming visit to India, Barack Hussein Obama will rack up a tab of $200 million a day, courtesy of the American taxpayer. About 3,000 people including Secret Service agents, US government officials and journalists would accompany the President. Several officials from the White House and US security agencies are already here for the past one week with helicopters, a ship and high-end security instruments. The average annual income in India is $460. 86% of the population...

President Obama's trip to India will cost the U.S. $200m-a-day, it was reported today. The visit - part of a 10-trip to Asia - will take place amid unprecedented levels of security in the city of Mumbai, where terrorists killed at least 173 people two years ago. Extreme measures to ensure the safety of President Obama will include the complete booking of the 570-room Taj Mahal Hotel for his security entourage. The building saw some of the fiercest fighting between Islamic militant gunmen and security forces during the November 2008 atrocity. Other precautions include the use of helicopters, US and...

Seemingly every election day estimate predicting increasingly bad news for Democrats is met by an exponential rise in the cost to taxpayers for President Obama’s “I’m outta here” world tour. Coincidence? Mumbai: The US would be spending a whopping $200 million (Rs. 900 crore approx) per day on President Barack Obama’s visit to the city. “The huge amount of around $200 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit,” a top official of the Maharashtra Government privy to the arrangements for the high-profile visit said. About 3,000 people including Secret Service agents, US government...

Barack Obama, who became the first US president to personally celebrate Diwali in the historic East Room in 2009, wanted to "specifically" celebrate the festival of lights with Indians, the White House has said. "He (Obama) specifically wanted to have an opportunity to celebrate Diwali and to do so with the Indian people, getting beyond simply his official business,"

The US would be spending a whopping $200 million (Rs 900 crore approx) per day on President Barack Obama's visit to Mumbai."The huge amount of around $ 200 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit," a top official of the Maharashtra government privy to the arrangements for the high-profile visit said. About 3,000 people including Secret Service agents, US government officials and journalists would accompany the President. Several officials from the White House and US security agencies are already here for the past one week with helicopters, a ship and high-end security instruments....

WASHINGTON: With trade high on his agenda, some 200 odd top US business chiefs, including soft drink giant Pepsico's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi , are expected to join US President Barack Obama on his India visit next month. Also expected are Honeywell CEO David M Cote, who co-chairs the India-US CEO Forum with Tata group chairman Ratan Tata . So is Terry McGraw, CEO of leading publishing house McGraw Hill, who took over from Nooyi as the chairman of the US Indian Business Council , representing 300 top US companies last June. Two more of 12 US forum members, Louis...

The big problem the day before and after yesterday’s tsunami-like election is the ongoing media failure to confront the big reality: Something’s not normal. It is not normal to have White House officials casually state that President Barack Obama was not watching election returns last night, particularly when those returns left him in a sort of `Home Alone` state.

Today, we can all agree, our country is currently in an economic hole. For a wide variety of reasons we are facing very difficult decisions ahead. After senselessly wasting trillions of our hard earned money and having nothing to show for it beyond an increased debt load, Mr. Obama recently claimed that he was going to focus on debt and deficit reduction. If that is true, then why, oh why Mr. President are you leaving on a trip which will cost us $200 million per day? Mumbai: The US would be spending a whopping $200 million (Rs. 900 crore approx)...

AND WHERE IS HE GETTING THE $200,000,000 A DAY THAT IT WILL COST? Despite yesterday’s election, it is now blatantly obvious that Obama & Co neither cares about the United States of America nor its people. Today, the US tyrant–along with an estimated 50 jumbo jets full of his 3,000- person entourage–will fly Air Force One (followed by the second AF One and Marine One copters) to Mumbai, India where he and his merry minions will take over the entire Taj Mahal and other hotels. The now fully-visible-to-the-entire-world hedonist and “Neroistic” monarch Obama will spend at least $200 Millions PER...

For me, it is difficult to picture the huge amounts of money that are discussed today in politics, so I was curious what does 200 Million Dollars worth of gold look like… Gold Today, Gold is valued at about $43,000 per kgA standard gold bar as most people think of it, is 400 Troy Ounces, 12.5 kilograms, or 27 Pounds. One bar cost about $575,000. With 200 Million dollars you could get over 350 Gold Bars. This is 350 Gold Bars. This is how much of your money Obama is willing to spend per day to have his wife visit...