White House Press Release: President Obama Remarks On American Visit of Sheikh Sabah, Amir Of Kuwait

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA

AND HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH SABAH,

 AMIR OF THE STATE OF KUWAIT

BEFORE MEETING

 

Oval Office

 

 

1:00 P.M. EDT

 

 

     PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I want to extend my welcome to the Amir of Kuwait.  We are grateful for his visit.  When I was traveling in the region, the Amir showed me great hospitality, so I’m glad to be able to return the gesture.  Although, I have to confess that I think the meal that we’re preparing is much smaller than the one he prepared for me. 

 

     Kuwait and the United States enjoy very strong bilateral relations.  We are looking to make those relations even stronger.  Kuwait has been an outstanding host for the United States Armed Forces during its operations in Iraq.  And as we transition our operations in Iraq, it’s important for us to emphasize not only our gratitude to Kuwait, but also our ongoing commitment to Kuwait’s security.

 

     We’re also discussing important regional issues ranging from the importance of moving the Arab-Israeli peace process forward, to the situation in Afghanistan, our joint counterterrorism efforts, and our need to emphasize Iran meeting its international obligations.  And I’m confident that, based on this conversation and ongoing work between our two countries, that we can strengthen not only Kuwaiti-U.S. relationships, but also to create a more stable region of peace and security in the region.

 

     HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH SABAH: (As translated.)  Thank you very much, Mr. President, His Excellency, for this kind welcome.  And I would like to affirm to the American people that Kuwait shall remain a partner of the United States.  Kuwait shall remain an ally and a partner of the United States.

 

     At the same time, I’m very delighted to be here with my colleagues during this visit.  I also am very delighted to congratulate President Obama on his birthday tomorrow.  And I also would like to congratulate him on the finding of the remains of the pilot, the U.S. pilot Speicher, that was lost back during the first war of Iraq.

 

     I also would like to congratulate President Obama on his presidency.  We have also discussed various issues of Afghanistan, the issue of Iran, and the issue of the Israeli-Arab relations.  I affirmed to President Obama that we are interested in bringing about peace in the Middle East.  It is in our interest that peace be brought about.  And the indicator is that the recent Arab peace initiative that was agreed upon by all of the Arab parties and states, and we would implement this peace initiative when Israel implements and fulfills its obligations.

 

     PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Okay.  Thank you, everybody.

BREAKING NEWS: Katherine Jackson Awarded Permanent Custody of Grandchildren! Now Seeking Co-Executorship of Michael Jackson’s Billion Dollar Estate!

Katherine Jackson

Katherine Jackson has been granted permanent custody of her grandchildren, Prince Michael I, Paris Katherine, and Prince Michael II. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff also granted Debbie Rowe, the children’s mother, visitation per psychiatric counseling on the children’s behalf.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff will hear Katherine Jackson’s petition to be named co-executor of Michael Jackson’s estate; temporary executorship was given to longtime Jackson attorneys John McClain and John Braca. Katherine Jackson’s petition alledges that McClain and Braca have willfuly and unjustifiably kept “her in the dark” about important matters regarding Michael Jackson’s estate.

Attorneys for McClain and Braca contend that that statement and those in that vain are “inaccurate.” The issue concerning disclosure is one of confidentiality. John Braca and John McClain argue that full disclosure of her son’s estate is provisional if Katherine Jackson adheres to the confidentialty clause that restricts third parties from having access. Katherine Jackson has refused those terms.

A decision will be rendered by Judge Mitchell Beckloff later Monday as to the permanent executorship of Michael Jackson’s estate.

President Barack Obama’s Weekly Address – Transcript

President Barack Obama - July 31, 2009

Remarks of President Barack Obama

Weekly Address

Saturday, August 1^st, 2009

 

Today, I’d like to talk with you about a subject that I know is on everyone’s mind, and that’s the state of our economy. Yesterday, we received a report on our Gross Domestic Product. That’s a measure of our overall economic performance. The report showed that in the first few months of this year, the recession we faced when I took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time.  It told us how close we were to the edge.

 

But it also revealed that in the last few months, the economy has done measurably better than expected.  And many economists suggest that part of this progress is directly attributable to the Recovery Act.  This and the other difficult but important steps that we have taken over the last six months have helped put the brakes on this recession.   

 

We took unprecedented action to stem the spread of foreclosures by helping responsible homeowners stay in their homes and pay their mortgages.  We helped revive the credit markets and open up loans for families and small businesses.  And we enacted a Recovery Act that put tax cuts directly into the pockets of middle-class families and small businesses; extended unemployment insurance and health insurance for folks who have lost jobs; provided relief to struggling states to prevent layoffs of teachers and police officers; and made investments that are putting people back to work rebuilding and renovating roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals.  

 

Now, I realize that none of this is much comfort for Americans who are still out of work or struggling to make ends meet.  And when we receive our monthly job report next week, it is likely to show that we are continuing to lose far too many jobs in this country.  As far as I’m concerned, we will not have a recovery as long as we keep losing jobs.  And I won’t rest until every American who wants a job can find one. 

 

But history shows that you need to have economic growth before you have job growth.  And the report yesterday on our economy is an important sign that we’re headed in the right direction.  Business investment, which had been plummeting in the past few months, is showing signs of stabilizing.  This means that eventually, businesses will start growing and hiring again.  And that’s when it will really feel like a recovery to the American people. 

 

This won’t happen overnight.  As I’ve said before, it will take many more months to fully dig ourselves out of a recession – a recession that we’ve now learned was even deeper than anyone thought.  But I’ll continue to work every day, and take every step necessary, to make sure that happens.  I also want to make sure that we don’t return to an economy where our growth is based on inflated profits and maxed-out credit cards – because that doesn’t create a lot of jobs.  Even as we rescue this economy, we must work to rebuild it stronger than before.  We’ve got to build a new foundation strong enough to withstand future economic storms and support lasting prosperity. 

 

Next week, I’ll be talking about that new foundation when I head to Elkhart County in Indiana – a city hard hit not only by the economic crisis of recent months but by the broader economic changes of recent decades. For communities like Elkhart to thrive, we need to recapture the spirit of innovation that has always moved America forward.

 

That means once again having the best-educated, highest skilled workforce in the world. That means a health care system that makes it possible for entrepreneurs to innovate and businesses to compete without being saddled with skyrocketing insurance costs. That means leading the world in building a new clean energy economy with the potential to unleash a wave of innovation – and economic growth – while ending our dependence on foreign oil. And that means investing in the research and development that will produce the technologies of the future – which in turn will help create the industries and jobs of the future.

 

Innovation has been essential to our prosperity in the past, and it will be essential to our prosperity in the future. But it is only by building a new foundation that we will once again harness that incredible generative capacity of the American people. All it takes are the policies to tap that potential – to ignite that spark of creativity and ingenuity – which has always been at the heart of who we are and how we succeed. At a time when folks are experiencing real hardship, after years in which we have seen so many fail to take responsibility for our collective future, it’s important to keep our eyes fixed on that horizon.

 

Every day, I hear from Americans who are feeling firsthand the pain of this recession; these are folks who share their stories with me in letters and at town hall meetings; folks who remain in my mind and on my agenda each and every day. I know that there are countless families and businesses struggling to just hang on until this storm passes. But I also know that if we do the things we know we must, this storm will pass. And it will yield to a brighter day.