'How's Meghan?': Prince Harry and Barack Obama rekindle 'bromance' at Invictus Games ..... Obama Speaks at Luncheon

Prince Harry and Barack Obama at Invictus Games 

Joe Biden, former VP and his wife Jill also attended the game

Prince Harry and Barack Obama have rekindled their friendship in a surprise appearance on the basketball court. The Prince and former US president are firm friends, appearing in public together several times over the years. On Friday, they shocked fans at the Invictus Games as they emerged into the wheelchair basketball arena together.  
In a testament to their friendship, the Prince was allegedly overheard speaking about his girlfriend Ms Markle to Mr Obama, who finally attended Invictus events after being disappointed to miss out in Orlando last year.
“Obama just asked about her filming [Suits] and how it was going, and then Harry asked about Michelle and how she was doing. Then Harry said, send my love to Michelle.”

Former U.S. President Barack Obama greets competitors from Team France. 

Mr Obama caused something of a stir at the wheelchair basketball court when he started chanting "USA, USA" as they made their way to watch the US vs France game.
A spokesman for Mr Obama said the former president wished to lend his support to American competitors “to once again express his gratitude for their service and his admiration for their courage and resilience.”
It was a hero's return for Mr Obama to the Invictus Games, after he helped raise its profile in an extraordinary video series last year.
Then, he and his wife Michelle issued a video message challenging Prince Harry's British competitors to "bring it" at the Florida Games.
In May this year, the Prince and Mr Obama met at the Prince's home, Kensington Palace, while the former president was visiting the UK, discussing - among other things - mental health and the Manchester bombing which had happened days before.
They also spent time together in 2016, when Mr and Mrs Obama joined the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry for dinner during an official visit.
This year, he dropped into the Toronto Games in a casual appearance at the wheelchair basketball.

The Prince will attend several more sporting events before delivering an address at the closing ceremony on Saturday night.
Among those who met the Prince and Mr Obama were three small children who approached the pair shyly for a photograph. Otis Harding-Withers, six, was lifted onto Prince Harry's lap after saying hello, while Jakob Israel, eight, and his seven-year-old sister Grace posed in front of Mr Obama.
Jakob and Grace are the children of Jason Israel, who has served three tours in Afghanistan with the Canadian forces and competed in the track events after suffering an injury. Their emotional mother Amanda Israel, said she had used the moment to thank Prince Harry for setting up the Games.
Heather Harding, mother of Otis, said her son has simply walked over towards the Prince just as he and Mr Obama settled into their front row bleacher seats.
"Harry asked me if it was ok and put him on his lap," she said. "He was as lovely as I thought he would be."

 

Mr Obama and Prince Harry enjoy the Invictus Games together

Luncheon sponsored byThink-Tank Canada 2020.

TORONTO — Former U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday that closing borders won't create future jobs because what's changing industries like manufacturing are automation and artificial intelligence.

Obama told a Toronto luncheon on Friday that the transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy happened over the course of 150 years, but that the technological revolution is happening in 20 years. He said it's hard for governments to catch up to the pace of disruption.

Obama said over the next 25 years, advanced economies will have to confront the fact that there is not going to be enough high-paying full-time work as we traditionally conceive it.

"You'll still see auto companies doing pretty well and you'll see us manufacturing the goods that we use in the United States or Canada, but you'll walk through those factories and they'll be empty because they'll be run by robots and AI".

"The biggest challenge that we face in terms of maintaining good manufacturing jobs in our countries come from automation, and that is going to accelerate."

Friday's event, which cost $1,000 per plate, was organized by Ottawa-based think-tank Canada 2020.

Obama did not mention President Donald Trump by name but said if the strategy is to close off borders, then governments are missing the point. Trump nixed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and has called the North American Free Trade Agreement the worst trade deal in history and has threatened to withdraw from it.

Obama said that policies can make it easier or harder for people to adapt to change.

 He said unions are important but must recognize the original union model was built in the industrial era and needs to be refreshed in the information age. Things like a higher minimum wage can help cushion the impact of the disruption.

He said all advanced economies will have to adapt and find ways in which everybody has a productive, fulfilling life that can support a family. He said young people will need the skills to compete in an economy driven by massive technological change.

"The policies we have now can build a runway so that over the next 20 years people are not so angry, so fearful and so stressed that we end up resorting to policies that are not going to be good for anybody".
Canada has the greatest respect for Mr Obama and for his deep thinking, logic and wisdom on world matters.