The British Admiralty says the 15 sailors and marines captured by Iranian
Revolutionary Guard naval elements were nearly two miles within Iraqi waters.
** BRITAIN-IRAN STANDOFF: THINGS JUST GOT WORSE. Looks like it’s time to break out the SAS video footage. Iran’s foreign minister backed off his earlier statements to Turkish television and the AP that the lone female sailor among the 15 British sailors and marines seized by naval elements of the radical Iranian Revolutionary Guard was about to be released. Now he is saying that Britain must admit it made a mistake in having its forces in Iranian territorial waters. The British Admiralty earlier established that its folks were in Iraqi waters doing routine searches of vessels authorized by the UN Security Council.
** RICHARDSON SAYS IRAQ FOCUS INVITES “NUCLEAR 9/11,” WILL GO ON JON STEWART’S DAILY SHOW TONIGHT. New Mexico Governor and former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson, now running fourth in the California Democratic Presidential primary, told a crowd today at Johns Hopkins University that the Bush Administration’s intense focus on Iraq is missing the boat in the larger Terror War, allowing Al Qaeda to regroup and expand and could well lead to a “nuclear 9/11.” Richardson, who as U.S. secretary of energy in the Clinton Administration, worked to secure Russian nuclear warheads from the old Soviet days, says the White House has dropped the ball on nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation. He appears on Comedy Central’s popular Jon Stewart show tonight.
** IRANIANS SHOW CAPTURED BRITS ON STATE TV. Iran showed off their 15 British captives today on state television. On the broadcast, the only woman in the crew, wearing a scarf to cover her hair, apologized for the “trespass” and said she would return to Britain with “a present from the Iranian people.” Which, of course, doesn’t sound much like something she thought up herself. The Iranian foreign minister told the AP she would be released soon, but the British government says it has no confirmation of that. British officials are angry about the showing of their captured sailors and marines on state TV.
** SCHWARZENEGGER TAPS NEW EDUCATION SECRETARY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger just appointed a new secretary of education. He is David Long, an Iowan who has 21 years of experience as a classroom teacher and since 1999 has been superintendent of schools for Riverside County, in Southern California’s fast-growing Inland Empire, where he oversees 23 school districts with more than 400,000 students. He ran two other big school districts in the region for the 10 years before that after coming to California from Mason City, Iowa — a familiar locale from the Iowa Presidential caucus — where he taught in the classroom and was an athletic coach before going into management. Long, a Republican, also chairs an advisory committee for the U.S. secretary of education on safe and drug-free schools.
Most of the questions from the press just now were on other topics, such as the reform of the state’s massive insurance fund now underway by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a tragic auto accident involving a now former Schwarzenegger appointee to a state board, and Schwarzenegger’s daughter’s cell phone usage. The appointment of Long is actually a key building block in Schwarzenegger’s long-term plans.
The former action movie superstar intends next year to be his year of education reform, as this year is focused on health care and prisons, and last year on infrastructure and climate change. The education secretary, while a Cabinet-level post, can be either a key coordinator for administration resources and advisor to the governor, or more of a supernumerary position. This is in part because authority on education is diffused between a state Board of Education, the governor’s education secretary, and the elected state superintendent of public instruction. The latter post is held by Democrat Jack O’Connell, largely though not entirely backed by the powerful teachers unions, notably the giant California Teachers Association.
Schwarzenegger’s first education secretary was his old friend Dick Riordan, the former Los Angeles mayor who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2002, in which he was torpedoed in the Republican primary by $10 million of attack ads from the incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis. Davis preferred to run against a conservative Republican, rather than the moderate Riordan. Riordan had strongly considered running for governor again in the 2003 recall, but didn’t get his campaign act together and Schwarzenegger jumped in instead, shocking virtually all observers, including some of his own staff.
The new governor made Riordan his education secretary, but the post didn’t really take. Riordan became best known for making what he thought was a joke about a little girl’s name, an opinion which was not widely shared. I reported some time after that that Riordan would be leaving the post shortly. Schwarzenegger’s staff described my report as “a rumor.” The next day, they had a different story, that Riordan had actually secretly resigned a month earlier. Something which Riordan said he hadn’t known.
The next education secretary was Democrat Alan Bersin, the former San Diego superintendent of schools and a Bill Clinton appointee as U.S. attorney. While there were no embarrassments, the teachers unions didn’t like Bersin and this one didn’t particularly take, either. Though not because of their criticism, more, perhaps, because the major focus was elsewhere. Next year will be different in terms of focus, and it will be interesting to see Long emerge in what will be a key new role in the Schwarzenegger administration.
** THREE-WAY DEMOCRATIC RACE IN IOWA. The new Zogby telephone poll (not the unreliable Internet poll) of likely Democratic caucus voters in next year’s first-in-the-nation Iowa presidential caucuses indicates a tight three-way race there. The poll, which was taken after John and Elizabeth Edwards announced the return of her cancer and after former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack endorsed Hillary Clinton, shows Edwards’ once firm lead in Iowa has fallen into a statistical three-way tie with Clinton and Barack Obama. The numbers from the poll, conducted among more than 500 likely Iowa caucus voters on March 26th, are: Edwards 27%, Clinton 25%, and Obama 23%.
In January, Edwards led with 27%, Obama followed with 17%, and Clinton was third with 16%. The 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee is running in place in Iowa, with most of the movement in the direction of the former first lady and New York senator.
Says pollster John Zogby: Obama, the freshest face in the Democratic field, enjoys an enormous lead among very young respondents, while Clinton leads narrowly among those in their mid–20s. Edwards ekes out a lead among those age 35–54, winning 29% support, compared to 22% each for Obama and Clinton. Edwards and Clinton are tied for the lead at 25% among those age 55–69, while Clinton holds a narrow 33% to 31% lead over Edwards among those age 70 and older. Obama does poorly, winning only 7% support among the oldest Iowa voters.
Edwards leads slightly over Obama among those with college degrees (29% to 25%), and also leads among those living in households with incomes between $75,000 and $99,000. Clinton leads among those with high school diplomas, and among those living in households with incomes under $75,000.
Edwards appears to be the darling of both the very liberal and the moderates, while Obama leads among liberals. Edward wins 33% support among those who describe themselves as “progressives,” compared to 20% for Obama and 19% for Clinton.
Among liberals, Obama leads with 33%, compared to 23% for Clinton and 21% for Edwards. Among self–described moderates, Edwards leads with 35%, compared to 23% for Clinton and 19% for Obama.
Nearly three out of four respondents (74%) said they were more likely to support a presidential nominee who would stand by what he or she believes in regardless of whether or not they could win the general election, while 22% said they are more likely to support the candidate who can win the presidency.
Through much of 2003, we saw exactly what we see here. Three out of four voters wanted someone who would stand up for their beliefs no matter what, and they flocked to the campaign of Howard Dean. He built up a head of steam through the fall as his numbers solidified, but then, that changed dramatically three weeks before the caucuses, when voters started to abandon Dean and headed into the Kerry or Edwards campaign. It will be interesting to see if history repeats itself eight or nine months from now.
Half of the likely caucus–goers (50%) said they would prefer a candidate who is someone they consider a moderate, while 28% said they would prefer a nominee who is more liberal, and 14% said they would like a more conservative Democratic Party nominee.
The top three finishers in the Democratic field all have very strong support – 98% of Edwards backers said their support is “strong” or “very strong,”, while 97% of the supporters for Obama and Clinton said the same. However, Clinton appears to have the edge in terms of intensity, as 44% of her supporters consider their support to be “very strong,” compared to just 25% of Obama’s backers who said the same.
These results contradict some of the emerging conventional wisdom about the campaign; namely that Obama is the candidate of college-educated, upscale voters, that Clinton’s support is soft, and that caucus state Democrats are all activist liberals.
** FORBES BACKS GIULIANI, CANDIDATE IN LAS VEGAS TODAY. Former conservative Republican presidential Steve Forbes, CEO of the Forbes magazine empire, has just endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president. Forbes will serve as a national co-chair and a senior policy advisor for the campaign.
Giuliani is in Nevada today, where he leads in early polling for what Nevada Republicans intend to be the second-in-the-nation contest. He has a public event in Las Vegas at 5 PM.
** BRITISH-IRANIAN STAND-OFF CONTINUES. The stand-off over the seizure by naval elements of the radical Iranian Revolutionary Guard of 15 British sailors and marines continues. The British have announced that they are cutting off all official bilateral relations with Iran on topics other than the seizure of their personnel and Special Air Service (SAS) commandos are planning a retrieval mission. Meanwhile, the lone woman among the captives may, according to the report of a Turkish TV station on remarks of the Iranian foreign minister, be released.
The British Admiralty announced that the two rigid inflatable boats containing the UK personnel were 1.7 nautical miles within Iraqi waters. The Iranians claim they were in Iranian waters, but apparently first provided a set of coordinates which are actually in Iraqi waters.
** Track global and national energy prices in near real time via Bloomberg. Crude oil prices are up, in the $64 to $66 per barrel range, with the continued stand-off between Britain and Iran. They shot up well above that yesterday on rumors of impending military action.
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| Comments (161) |
I did Warren Olney’s “Which Way LA?” radio show today on the appointment.
>Capitol Boy :
Nobody cares about the new Schwarzenegger education secretary?
Mar 28, 2007 06:28 PM
“He is our President in time of war, you know …”
I thought we were in a perpetual struggle with terrorists that hate our ‘many freedoms.’ Doesn’t that mean EVERY President will be a wartime President from now on?
Bill — on a scale of 1 to 10, one being “mildly irritated,” and ten being “vile hatred”, where does CTA stand on the new appointment?
They should ask Ollie North instead about invoking the Fifth before Congress, and what advice he has for those at Justice preparing to do so.
The only reason North never served his prison sentence was because dumb (or deliberate?) federal prosecutors misused his immunized Congressional testimony which was given after he took the Fifth there and was granted immunity.
Okay…here is one possible way this could be resolved: the EU will broker some deal …perhaps, go back to a combination of South Africa and India’s request of having (S.A’s) “time out” 90 days of negotiation period before imposing sanctions and have the Iran Nuclear program dispute kicked back to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (India’s idea)
then the sailors are released with everyone smiling and saying “stuff happens” …then when the debate gets to the IAEA…
Wilbur:”The only reason North never served his prison sentence”
well the truth is, that does not bother me that much… there were at 4 or 5 far more devious, corrupt, greedy, amoral men involved in Iran Contra than Ollie…it is just that Ollie knew nothing about Iran in the 1980′s and even less now…but Fox has trotted him out to be an Iran pundit during this so called “hostage crisis”…
Barbara — your plan sounds well thought out, feasible, with a decent chance of success.
But when do we get to bomb something?
I’m not sure. I’m sure he wouldn’t be the teachers unions’ first choice. The school board association is very positive.
The education secretary post does not require Senate confirmation.
>Brasky :
Bill — on a scale of 1 to 10, one being “mildly irritated,” and ten being “vile hatred”, where does CTA stand on the new appointment?
Mar 28, 2007 06:41 PM
Nope.. sorry no bombing…no Entebbe like operation…Iran ,Brits, and US all know that…this was a political risky venture for Iran not a military risk…but heck, in that least popular world poll here at NWN …they were right at the bottom with the US and Israel so it is not like they had much to lose!….they will get a piece of the pie in Iraq before this is all over too…then the whole nuclear program problem will be dumped in the IEAE where they feel they will be handled more fairly …but like most international forums it will digress into attacking Israel’s aggression in the ME and it’s nuclear program!…I am just musing …I have not read anything like I am proposing …but this will not go on much longer ,,,this is BLACKMAIL not a hostage crisis…believe me, I know the difference I am sorry to say…
Brooklyn’s only Fields Medal winner, Paul Joseph Cohen, just passed. He was famous for proving that the Continuum Hypothesis could not be proven. Wrap your head around that…
That’s aamazing. I would have thought that Brooklyn had produced more Fields awardees. They have several Nobel Lauriates after all.
Maybe all the math inclined went into Physics.
I think only a handful of Fields have been awarded to Americans — like a dozen?
My question is who cares about Schwarzenegger’s cell phone bill? Or is this just a slow news day?
Barbara,
Today at the Arab summit you have been following, Saudi King Abdullah said the presence of US troops in Iraq was an “illegitimate foreign occupation.”
Was he saying this as a pro forma sop for local consumption, or is it an important geopolitical statement of policy? Does it signify something we should be concerned about? Is the Saudi regime moving away from the Bush administration?
My God…111 posts?
Must be a record for the Bradley blog. Mighty impressive.
Sooth not sure what has gotten everyone in a tizzy, but as our esteemed President might say: Bring it on!
Okay, that was then and this is now!
Sorry state of affairs nearly everywhere one looks these days.
Washington is the epitome of pathetic politics.
Sacramento is mired in the irrelevant.
Wall Street is tanking.
And the World is having fits and starts.
Presidential race is an incredible embarrassment at this stage. Too early with so little to offer.
Second wave of candidacies are being readied and one should just remember the last time we had a wartime presidential election (1968). Volatile and unpredictable.
I wouldn’t put a plug nickel on any aspirant at this stage.
Sayeth Sooth
Larry,
I just saw the item in the Herald Trib you referenced…briefly here is my take…I think it was both for ME and US consumption …the Saudi’s told Bush not to go into Iraq…once we went in and the Sunni/Shia conflict started they were concerned about us making an exit that would leave the Iraq Sunni’s vulnerable to a Shia majority…however,it is clear they have no confidence in the Bush handling of all this and why should they? They have truly stepped up to the plate to lead the Arabs, but they are correct, they need Lebanon, Iraq and the PNA/Hammas conflicts to be resolved for them to be seen as effective and to hold their own and even combat a very empowered Iran down the line if need be…I think the US should be pleased to see REAL ARAB leadership but yes concerned because the Saudi’s will be courted not only by Russia as is already happening, but China also eventually, ..and a new independent thinking Saudi Arabia will take some getting use to ..I think they singled out the US inpart because we are seen as AGGRESSORS in the ME and in much of the world, so why not use us to show they are not a uS puppet (al Queda’s charge) but also because they ARE very IRRITATED with us at the moment for dragging our feet in recognizing the new Palestinian Government which is a coalition gov of Fatah and Hamas and at least one independent .. they brokered in Mecca about a month ago…they see working with this gov as pivotal to weaning away Hamas from Iran…
This is all going to be very difficult and tricky for the US …and for Israel, and neither the US or Israel right now has the leadership it needs to deal with the new realities of the ME
Sooth
I don’t know where you have been?! …but if you think you can come and be all intriguing and all those things and then disappear and then re- appear and that we are all going to just jump into your arms again …well …all I can say …is …
that’s what we are exactly going to do!!!
Toodles!!!!
Let’s give him a Norm-like welcome. All together – “SOOTH!”
I won’t tell you guys where I found him …
Sooth…very sexy…teasing us like you do!
Barbra,
Thank you for a typically insightful, informative, and analytic post.
I certainly agree that we do not have the leadership now to deal with any of the problems in the Middle East in any positive way.
Sooth:Second wave of candidacies are being readied and one should just remember the last time
Brasky, look at what he said …I am going to put some money on Hagel!
Certain thrills in life are worth a risk!…
Carole, He’s the only man that undertsands me! but Shhh! don’t tell anyone!
Too funny!
Too funny!
<Brasky :
Let’s give him a Norm-like welcome. All together – “SOOTH!”
Mar 28, 2007 08:44 PM
Why is Schwarzenegger overshadowed by the Middle East? I do not understand this.
Your welcome Larry…
I am worried about Israel…hoping this new wild realist Russian on the scene is the real thing…
Babs — how much you putting on Hagel? He’s running on such low volume, you’re going to impact the market! Maybe NWN fans can use this information. Hmm, where did I put those Enron memos…
Barbara,
I wont tell a soul:)
You have been writing some pretty interesting stuff on the ME.
Barbara writes like she is with the State Dept.
Barb,
Only for you, my dear.
Barbara, what Ollie North did, and who he did it with, is relevant to what’s going on now and who’s pulling the strings. She who ignores the lessons of the past, etc. etc.
A certain Dick Cheney was Vice Chair of the committee which conferred the testimonial use immunity which was then cleverly played to shield North and several cohorts from successful prosecution.
Even then Cheney was pushing for the reinstatement of supreme executive power to disregard Congressional contraints, i.e., put the President back above the law where he belongs. , which has been Cheney’s theme throughout this decade’s resumed effort to create an imperial presidency. Check out John Dean’s take at http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20060210.html
Okay, Sooth is back. But, where’s Jullian? Check in please…
And another thing or two…
This Edwards thing has me in a big funk. And dare I say, the Tony Snow malady as well.
Fact is there are two very good people going to be taken from us way before their time.
Life is unfair…but we sojourn on.
I had always believed that John Edwards would emerge ultimately to be the primary challenger to The H.
Not so anymore. Don’t want to pre-judge but the President who was elected but never took office is more likely to fill that void now.
We still are 10 months away from any humanoid voting in this crap shoot…candidates will come and they will go (early) due to the breakneck pace and the fundraising race. Burn rates will end up burning campaigns out at an historically early time.
Then boredom will set in amongst the ruled.
New sprouts will rise from the seeds of discontent. (Chauncey Gardener anyone?)
The man from the plains (as opposed to the Man from Plains–thank God) will only become viable in the Spring next…most likely as an Independent or representative of the Quixotic Unity 08 fantasy.
Interesting times…sadly interesting times.
Sayeth Sooth
Sorry, folks, must be past my bed time…mean to type Jillian. Sorry, Jullian. Both you and Jullian can check in…
Good night.
The English and US are tied up by your niceties. The Persians did this thing as they know they can get away with it.
Would Russia send out the assassination squads?
Something certainly struck a nerve here with all the comments. I wouldn’t have predicted this.
I don’t know where to start. lol
What about Afghanistan?
Troubled, troubled, troubled.
What happened to the Taliban offensive?
Mr. Bradley:Something certainly struck a nerve here with all the comments. I wouldn’t have predicted this”
It’s Sooth Mr. Bradley!….He’s back in town!
Must be it. Good thing I tracked him down in Budapest.
Wilbur:Barbara, what Ollie North did, and who he did it with, is relevant…
well I am aware of the Cheney role in Iran/Contra…there is little Iran/Contra trivia that I am unaware of..I was responding on a personal note not being dismissive of Cheney’s actions or role…I have my reasons for not wanting to see North go to jail…and they are my reasons of no interest to anyone else…
I was not saying that we should dismiss Cheney’s modus operandi …he has proved to be quite dangerous and destructive fellow…again, I was only offering up a personal note on one individual (i.e., Ollie) that you cited…again, I am not that bothered that Ollie did not serve time…there are others who should really have been penalized and perhaps done time …but exposure would have been enough for me … but they went unexposed because they saw to it that the one person who could have exposed them …never could….and because they went unexposed they lived “politically” yet another day and were able to infect yet another Presidential administration with their neo-con plague and start a very big horrible war.
Budapest? What a notorious city.
Well Mr. Bradley, there have not been any riots reported of late in Kossuth Square so our SOOTH must have been behaving himself….somewhat…!!!
He’s on the other side of the Danube River.
In Buda.
Or Pest.
One of the two …
You have no idea how satisfying it is to tell someone they are from Pest …
Mr. Bradley!
I wonder if Sooth leaked that recording last fall where Gyurcsany admitted he lied to win re-election!!!!…hey! maybe Sooth works for Putin ! Now if the Saudis set me up in Brussels, Sooth and I just might find ourselves across a table!!! ….negotiating…something or other!!!!!…wouldn’t that be wild!!! but you never know where life leads you!
What?
>Barbara :
Mr. Bradley!
I wonder if Sooth leaked that recording last fall where Gyurcsany admitted he lied to win re-election!!!!…hey! maybe Sooth works for Putin ! Now if the Saudis set me up in Brussels, Sooth and I just might find ourselves across a table!!! ….negotiating…something or other!!!!!…wouldn’t that be wild!!! but you never know where life leads you!
Mar 29, 2007 11:10 AM
well Jonas !you need to listen to Gwyneth paltrow and Baby Face sing…(I love Gwyneth she was in one of may favorite films “Possession” !!!)
“But it was just my imagination (ohh, so fly look out my window)
Running away with me (it’s running away with me baby)
Just my imagination (running away)
Running away with me (my baby, my sugar, my sweetie, look at my baby)”
Gee! I hope someone comes and does ONE MORE POST so that Mr. Bradley has an even 150 for the day the Sooth came back! Toodles!
*obliges Barb*