Obama’s first foreign visit to be to Canada

[wahyinghung]

Barack Obama will make his first foreign trip as president of the United States to Canada — restoring a long-standing tradition abandoned eight years ago by George W. Bush.Officials in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office confirmed Obama has accepted an offer to visit Canada “soon” after his Jan. 20 inauguration as America’s 44th president.

“We have been in close contact with president-elect Obama’s transition team,” said Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office.

“We can confirm that the president-elect has accepted the prime minister’s invitation to visit Canada soon after he is inaugurated. This will be president Obama’s first foreign visit.”
Video can be found on the link
http://www.theprovince.com/Technolog...013/story.html

[keifun]

^lol at the read from the province link..

it seems lots of people outside of canada think we have a president in our government.

[Sweet2L]

very very cool... obama ftmfw

[miss_crayon]

obamaaa

[johny]

hopefully the border will turn him away!

[Black SC2]

Originally Posted by johny

hopefully the border will turn him away!

He's black, not Mexican.

I think this is a good sign. He seems to be a man of his word, it'll be nice to be on good terms with a President like that.

[hal0g0dv2]

Originally Posted by Black SC2

He's black, not Mexican.

I think this is a good sign. He seems to be a man of his word, it'll be nice to be on good terms with a President like that.

so we think

[shenmecar]

only time will tell.

[Eastwood]

Both candidates were bad choices. I had hope for Obama until the way he handled the Israel, Gaza, situation. He put all zionists on his cabinet, and is going to increase arms, and aid to Israel. In our global economic situation, this is a horrible thing to do. Nothing is going to change in America. I remember when he opposed war.

[dat_steve]

o o o obama obama obama obama o o o obama obam obama
so can someone cole's notes why bush never "visited" Canada??

[JDMontego]

Originally Posted by Eastwood

Both candidates were bad choices. I had hope for Obama until the way he handled the Israel, Gaza, situation. He put all zionists on his cabinet, and is going to increase arms, and aid to Israel. In our global economic situation, this is a horrible thing to do. Nothing is going to change in America. I remember when he opposed war.

But...but... He's the beacon of hope for western civilization! Just because he was a lawyer and politician in one of the most corrupt places in America doesn't mean he will be another corporate owned political hack in office. He's for change!

[MERXUS]

man.. obama sucks,,, hes gonna fak shit up in usa...

give him 6 months and you will bring this thread back saying exactly same thing.

then again id love to see obama rap this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8e6-IeQ0aw

[StylinRed]

thats cool


as for obama putting zionists in his cabinet etc... im hoping its just a ploy to fend off an assasination attempt on him until after he gets sworn in

[Nocardia]

[QUOTE=MERXUS;6218700]man.. obama sucks,,, hes gonna fak shit up in usa...
give him 6 months and you will bring this thread back saying exactly same thing.
QUOTE]

a little suprised to hear someone say that......how can he "fak" shit up worse than it already is?

[fetched]

He shouldn't visit Canada first, he really needs to rebuild the relationship with EU Nations FIRST then improve relations in other countries such as Canada. EU - USA relationship was dundies with Bush.

[wahyinghung]

CALGARY - Environmental concerns and the need for clean, secure energy will be top priorities when Barack Obama makes his first foreign visit to Canada as U.S. president, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.

Harper told a Calgary radio station that he's been in touch with Obama's new government even as the president prepares to officially take office next Tuesday.

"We will be making the point ... of saying we want to work together with the United States on environmental and energy issues," he said.

"To be frank on the oilsands, we've got to do a better job environmentally. We hear a lot of pressure on that.

"At the same time, the development of these things is pretty important, in our judgment, to North American energy security."

Obama has said he will fight America's "addiction" to dirty oil, which has raised concerns about his stance on crude from Alberta's oilsands.

But Harper says coal-powered electrical generation, which is used extensively south of the border, "is pretty dirty, too," and the two countries should work together to find solutions.

He pointed out that the U.S. is "an energy-deficient country, and a country with enormous security needs and issues."

"There is no more reliable and secure supply of energy than from Canada. They need us in that sense."

Environment Minister Jim Prentice said the meeting will be a chance to bring the two countries together on an approach to climate change.

"I think there's enormous opportunity for Canada right now to take leadership, to work together with the new administration in the United States, and to do this in a way that suits our industry and our jobs," he said after a morning meeting with business leaders in Calgary.

Harper said he's "delighted" Obama decided to make Canada his first official foreign visit after he takes office, saying it shows the close, fraternal relationship between the two countries.

"It's important to both of us and we'll always do our best to make that a positive relationship."

During Obama's campaign last year for the Democratic nomination, he hinted that he might reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

But a leaked diplomatic memo suggested his economic team had reassured Canadian officials he would keep the status quo.

Four of the last seven U.S. presidents have chosen Canada for their first international trip, although George W. Bush wasn't one of them. He visited Mexico first when he became president eight years ago.

When asked what Bush's legacy would be, Harper wouldn't answer, saying it would be too controversial for him to analyze the "obvious challenges" the U.S. faces as it makes the transition to a new leader.

But he did say he always found Bush willing to hear Canadian concerns, even if the two countries didn't always see eye to eye.

"He did listen. He did value Canada. I always found him to be a very frank guy. He told me what he could do and what he couldn't do, and, if he didn't agree, he told me he didn't agree."

Harper pointed to a deal the two countries reached to end a long-standing dispute over softwood lumber as an example of how Bush was willing to work with Canada.

"I didn't have the fireworks with him that at least one of my predecessors did. I found him to be a friend of Canada and to value the Canadian relationship.

"And I think we'll see the same thing with the next administration."

A date for Obama's Canadian visit has not yet been set.

Up for debate is what kind of personal relationship Obama and Harper might have.

Harper's Conservative government is scheduled to table a budget on Jan. 27 that could still be defeated in a non-confidence vote by a coalition of Liberals, New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois.

Since his historic election, Obama has set aside partisanship and stressed his willingness to consult and work with people from both ends of the political spectrum.

[m!chael]

Originally Posted by Eastwood

Both candidates were bad choices. I had hope for Obama until the way he handled the Israel, Gaza, situation. He put all zionists on his cabinet, and is going to increase arms, and aid to Israel. In our global economic situation, this is a horrible thing to do. Nothing is going to change in America. I remember when he opposed war.

lol you crack me up dude. Im pretty sure there are better measures of a presidents capabilities then whether he puts zionists in his cabinet or not.

[B-nAnA]

The true first black president:

DAVID PALMER!

[Bouncing Bettys]

^tha fuck you say?!

[Peturbo]

(bernie mac)WTF you say?""


RIP bernie mac

[antonito]

[QUOTE=Biohazard;6218756]

Originally Posted by MERXUS

man.. obama sucks,,, hes gonna fak shit up in usa...
give him 6 months and you will bring this thread back saying exactly same thing.
QUOTE]

a little suprised to hear someone say that......how can he "fak" shit up worse than it already is?

Don't worry, they'll make something up. There's still people that think that Clinton was a bad president compared to Bush.

In short: there's a lot of stupid fucking people

[boss_clad]

why don't most of you guys shut the up,
he knows what he's doing.

[jlo mein]

Originally Posted by Peturbo

(bernie mac)WTF you say?""


RIP bernie mac

Bernie Mac is dead??? WTF???

[?NR]

Originally Posted by jlo mein

Bernie Mac is dead??? WTF???

yeah, pretty recently. He succumbed to pneumonia and complications.

[Domani]

and then he's gonna say how the artic north is theirs.