In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama discusses the act of terrorism on the Christmas Day flight to Detroit, and his broader strategy to fight Al Qaeda.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? …
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu during their vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than that in California. It is GMT -10.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen. New sanctions are coming against Iran for its renegade nuclear program.
Obama has closed the US embassy in Yemen in anticipation of terrorist attacks.
Britain has also closed its embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Back in Washington on Tuesday, Obama will meet with top intelligence and security officials to review the situation and make further decisions on Al Qaeda and airline security.
Incidentally, an assassin from Somalia, who reportedly says he is with Al Qaeda, tried to kill one of the Danish cartoonists who incited Islamic rage five years ago with disrespectful depictions of the Prophet Mohammed. The attempt, which involved the axe-wielding assassin breaking into the cartoonist’s home and chasing him and his daughter into a safe room, was unsuccessful. The suspect was apprehended.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in California with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
Says Schwarzenegger: My Number One priority is jobs, jobs, jobs.
And in my State of the State Address next week, I will announce a job creation package to help spur job growth and jumpstart our economy.
The other thing we must do this year to help our economy, is reform California’s broken budget and tax systems.
I will talk more about this in my State of the State but the bottom line is, our budget and tax systems are the root of a lot of our state’s fiscal problems. Over the years they have led to volatile swings in revenue and massive deficits.
They have led to painful spending cuts and tax increases. This holds our economy back from its full potential.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than that in California. It is GMT -10.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
Obama will move soon for a new round of sanctions against Iran for its ongoing intransigence with regard to its nuclear program.
And Obama is dealing with the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit.
Back in Washington on Tuesday, he will meet with top intelligence and security officials to review the situation and make further decisions on Al Qaeda and airline security.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SATURDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in California with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
From New Zealand to London and then on to New York City and California, the world has entered both a new year and a new decade. Here are sights and sounds from New Year’s 2010.
** MARK TWAIN ON NEW YEAR’S DAY.
Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient short comings considerably shorter than ever. We shall also reflect pleasantly upon how we did the same old thing last year about this time. However, go in, community. New Year’s is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls, and humbug resolutions, and we wish you to enjoy it with a looseness suited to the greatness of the occasion.
– from the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise
Nevada Territory
January 1, 1863
** OBAMA TODAY – FRIDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than that in California. It is GMT -10.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
He received briefings yesterday on how a 23-year old Nigerian terrorist with an explosives pack got on board a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit on Christmas Day.
He then issued this statement:
“I anticipate receiving assessments from several agencies this evening and will review those tonight and over the course of the weekend. On Tuesday, in Washington, I will meet personally with relevant agency heads to discuss our ongoing reviews as well as security enhancements and intelligence-sharing improvements in our homeland security and counterterrorism operations.”
On a lighter note, Obama and his family went to see Avatar on New Year’s Eve.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – FRIDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in California with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
Schwarzenegger has protested and vowed to appeal a ruling issued late yesterday by an Alameda County judge to block his practice of furloughing state workers to save money during the ongoing budget crisis.
His appeal will stay the order.
The Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for a suicide bombing at a forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan that killed eight American civilians and one Afghan, the worst loss of life for the U.S. in the country since October. The targets were CIA agents, and the killer may have been an Afghan soldier.
** OBAMA TODAY – THURSDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than that in California. It is GMT -10.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
So far at least, Iranian security forces seem to be handling the latest outbreak of protest against the regime, in their usual bloody fashion.
Obama will move soon for a new round of sanctions against Iran for its ongoing intransigence with regard to its nuclear program.
Pakistani police will reportedly seek life imprisonment for five Americans from the Washington, D.C. area accused of planning attacks. They say they have proof that the so-called “DC Five” were in touch with Taliban and other militants in tribal regions and were carrying maps to nuclear installations when captured.
And Obama is dealing with the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit.
He will today receive a report on how intelligence and diplomatic officials allowed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to nearly carry out his deadly plan.
In brighter news, the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since July 2008, a sign the job market is healing as the economy slowly recovers.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – THURSDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
Dealing with highly partisan criticism that did not attend a very similar incident in 2002, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that “a systemic failure” allowed the attempted Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound flight from Amsterdam. He called it “totally unacceptable.”
** OBAMA TODAY – WEDNESDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than that in California. It is GMT -10.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
So far at least, Iranian security forces seem to be handling the latest outbreak of protest against the regime.
And Obama is dealing with the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit.
Yesterday, he made his second statement in two days on the event and its evident causes.
When British national Richard Reid, also known as Abdul Raheem and Tariq Raja, who traveled freqently to Pakistan, tried to blow up a transatlantic flight right before Christmas 2001, he tried to use the same sort of explosive.
Then President George W. Bush, vacationing at his Texas ranch, said nothing for six days. He then made a few rather noncommittal remarks. Democrats made nothing of this.
Reid, incidentally, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal court in Boston in 2003. He’s in federal prison in Colorado.
In contrast, Obama has been attacked by Republicans since the incident in the skies near Detroit. Ex-Vice President Dick Cheney sent a statement to the conservative outlet Politico overnight blasting Obama for being soft on terrorism.
“We are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren’t, it makes us less safe,” Cheney said in a statement to POLITICO. “Why doesn’t he want to admit we’re at war? It doesn’t fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn’t fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency — social transformation — the restructuring of American society.”
As it happens, Obama has accelerated drone aircraft and special ops strikes against terrorist targets and dramatically escalated the near failed war in Afghanistan which he inherited from Cheney and Bush, as well as repeatedly saying that we are at war.
And Cheney presided over the release in 2007 of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay who reportedly planned the 12/25 operation.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – WEDNESDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
Schwarzenegger made a raft of appointments yesterday to the bench and also announced a slew of renewable energy projects.
Pakistanis are burying their dead in the wake of Monday’s terrorist attack on a Shiite procession in Karachi. Fires were still burning Tuesday following riots after the bombing, and officials said the death toll had climbed to 43.
** OBAMA TODAY – TUESDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than that in California. It is GMT -10.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
And he is dealing with the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit.
He lived in Yemen for for months prior to leaving on his fateful flight to Detroit.
The Al Qaeda group which reportedly provided him with training and explosives was reportedly headed by two former Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
They were released in November 2007 to their native Saudi Arabia.
After reportedly going through art rehabilitation therapy, they went to Yemen where they became leaders of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
In other action, Vice President Biden is vacationing with his family in the Virgin Islands.
And aides to leaders from the Senate and the House have begun work on merging the two versions of the national health care reform bill which have passed both houses.
While nothing goes on in California politics, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons and First Lady Dawn Gibbons have reached a divorce settlement. Lawyers and the first couple emerged from a Reno courtroom Monday morning after meeting with a judge to iron out a deal and avoid a public trial. The Republican’s re-election prospects are poor, and he faces a primary.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – TUESDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
** THE COMMON THREADS OF AVATAR.Is Avatar the future of cinema? Probably. There has to be something to draw people away from their computers and home entertainment centers, and with television series now generally at least as good as if not better than feature films, there are fewer reasons to drive to a theater. But you’ll never see anything at home like Avatar, which nonetheless holds common thematic threads going back to the beginning of the director’s career. … From my December 22nd essay.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil is closed on Thursday at $79.36 per barrel. Energy markets are closed for New Year’s weekend.
This is up about $45 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Al Qaeda claims credit for the Christmas Day airliner attack, saying it’s retaliation for air strikes in Yemen in the past few weeks.
** DOCTOR WHO: THE ENDING IMPENDING.Even with a nearly immortal (okay, say his life span is 900 years) character, there are endings. Especially when he’s the (almost) title character of the longest running science fiction television series in the world. When there’s a new James Bond, we have to shrug off the development from a continuity standpoint. But the Doctor has a built-in explanation; he regenerates.
Doctor Who’s present incarnation of the Doctor, the tenth to date, is reaching “the end of his song,” as his psychic Ood friends say. There is “a darkness coming,” vaster still than great darknesses which have come before on this quite operatic space (and time) opera of a show. The show’s annual Christmas special has evolved into a two-part finale ending on New Year’s Day in Britain, and on the 2nd on BBC America. …
Yemen has emerged as a big staging area for Al Qaeda. Nidal Hasan, who shot 13 people to death last month at Fort Hood, was in contact with an American-born extremist religious figure in Yemen who is an Al Qaeda recruiter. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to bring down an airliner on Christmas Day over Detroit, says he received Al Qaeda training and explosives in Yemen.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
A very short week in presidential politics, and another essentially non-existent week in California politics. Due, of course, to the fact that New Year’s Day is on Friday.
President Barack Obama’s vacations thusfar are notably ill-fated. During his brief summer vacation, his friend Senator Ted Kennedy died, occasioning Obama to travel to Boston to deliver his eulogy. On Christmas Day, an Islamic extremist tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane descending into Detroit.
This incident has revealed some very significant holes in US security. These holes go back to the Bush/Cheney Administration. But Obama is the president now and it is up to him to solve the problem.
I don’t think people are going to be pleased with having to put away their books and laptops and sit quietly in their seats for the last hour of each flight on the working assumption that each of them could be a terrorist. I suspect that some aspects of Israeli El Al-style passenger profiling — it’s been over 40 years since an El Al flight was successfully attacked, and that event was prior to the imposition of the security procedures — may be on the verge of coming into vogue.
A 23-year old Nigerian man, a recent graduate of the elite University College London, tried to set off an explosive device strapped to his leg. It misfired, which is why no one was killed, and he was overwhelmed by passengers.
Obama has ordered a review of security procedures which placed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on a list of 550,000 people with suspected terrorist ties but not on the no-fly list of 4000 or so. And which allowed the 23-year old scion of one of Nigeria’s richest bankers to enter the US after he was barred from re-entering the UK. (British officials say his visa was denied on the basis that the school he said he wished to attend was fake, which they say is a typical ruse for Islamic extremists to gain entry.) And which also missed the fact that his father reported his fears about his son’s extremist religious views to both the US embassy in Abuja and to Nigerian security agencies. (That placed him in the big database, but not on a list of 18,000 to go through further airport security screening.)
The fact is that this fellow, who says he traveled to Yemen, which the Obama Adinistration knows is the newest Al Qaeda hotbed — and why are our troops increasingly deployed where Al Qaeda isn’t? — where he received training and explosives, fits the profile of a possible terrorist to a tee. As do all the people who have tried to take over aircraft in this decade.
Now it is not as though Obama is exactly ignoring the situation in Yemen, which is also the site of what appears to be something of a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. American aid to the already friendly government there has increased sharply and there have been two big air strikes against Al Qaeda cadre there in the past few weeks. One of those targeted the home of Anwar al-Awlaki, the New Mexico-born civil engineer-turned imam linked to Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 and wounded 32 at Fort Hood, Texas. His relatives say al-Awlaki survived, but he has issued no statements himself.
Obaa is also monitoring other geopolitical crises, including the increasingly wild situation in Iran. This crisis was already boiling with the Iranian leadership’s zigzag intransigence on its nuclear program.
Now Iranian security forces are cracking down on insistent protesters. Several have been killed, including the nephew of the leading opposition presidential candidate. And several top opposition leaders have been arrested.
The mobile phone network in Tehran has been shut down, as have various transit stations there and in other parts of the country.
With his diplomatic initiatives not bearing fruit, Obama is now less constrained on Iran’s internal politics. The White House has strongly denounced the Iranian crackdown.
Obama does have some good news. His approval rating is back over 50% and holding steady.
And retail sales rebounded somewhat from the lows of last year’s Christmas season, up 3.6% from the year before during the period from November 1st through December 24th.
Thirty years ago yesterday, after thousands of Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan, Soviet commandos executed Operation Storm-333. This was a special operation to storm the presidential palace and install a new government. The Soviet spetsnaz killed the president of Afghanistan, his son, his entourage, and over 200 Afghan troops defending him. Video courtesy of Russia Today.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events, though he is expected to speak on the terrorist attack over Detroit.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than that in California. It is GMT -10.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
He will speak later today on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year old Nigerian who says he is part of Al Qaeda and who tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane descending into Detroit on Christmas Day.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
** THE COMMON THREADS OF AVATAR.Is Avatar the future of cinema? Probably. There has to be something to draw people away from their computers and home entertainment centers, and with television series now generally at least as good as if not better than feature films, there are fewer reasons to drive to a theater. But you’ll never see anything at home like Avatar, which nonetheless holds common thematic threads going back to the beginning of the director’s career. … From my December 22nd essay.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $44 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
A wealthy and privileged Nigerian man who claimed to be an agent of Al Qaeda was charged on Saturday with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day as it was preparing to land in Detroit.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on Windward side of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran (where clashes are ongoing between protesters and government forces, with the nephew of the leading opposition presidential candidate amongst several killed today), Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
And the bizarre incident on a Northwest Airlines plane descending into Detroit on Christmas Day.
A 23-year old Nigerian man, a recent graduate of the elite University College London, tried to set off an explosive device strapped to his leg. It misfired, which is why no one was killed, and he was overwhelmed by passengers.
Obama has ordered a review of security procedures which placed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on a list of 550,000 people with suspected terrorist ties but not on the no-fly list of 4000 or so. And which allowed the 23-year old scion of one of Nigeria’s richest bankers to enter the US after he was barred from re-entering the UK. And which also missed the fact that his father reported his fears about his son’s extremist views to both the US embassy in Abuja and to Nigerian security agencies.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family for the holidays.
He has no scheduled public events.
Northwest Flight 253 with 278 passengers aboard was 20 minutes from the airport in Detroit when passengers heard popping noises, witnesses said. A Nigerian man who said he was an agent for Al Qaeda tried to blow up the plane Friday, officials said.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Obamas are staying in a private residence in Kailua on the island of Oahu during their 10-day vacation in the president’s home state. Kailua, a very scenic place with a population of 36,000 on the Windward side of Oahu, is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there this morning.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
And a bizarre incident on a Northwest Airlines plane descending into Detroit yesterday.
As you’ve no doubt heard, a 23-year old Nigerian named Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab evidently tried to blow up a passenger plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit. A former college student in London, he began his flight in Lagos.
He has since reportedly told interrogators that he was acting on orders from Al Qaeda and received his materials and instructions in Yemen. While in flight to Detroit, before the plane entered its approach pattern, he evidently mixed substances, including a powder, together to create an explosive device.
As the plane descended to begin its approach to airport, he reportedly stood up to detonate some sort of device, which evidently misfired. He was then subdued by passengers.
According to a statement posted Saturday morning on Air Canada’s Web site, the Transportation Security Administration will severely limit the behavior of both passengers and crew during flights in United States airspace — restricting movement in the final hour of flight. Late Saturday morning, the T.S.A. had not yet included this new information on its own Web site.
“Among other things,” the statement in Air Canada’s Web site read, “during the final hour of flight customers must remain seated, will not be allowed to access carry-on baggage, or have personal belongings or other items on their laps.”
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited with Marines and their families having Christmas dinner in Kaneohe at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, near where the first family is spending their Christmas vacation.
The suspect, according to officials, tried to light his explosives while the plane was descending into Detroit on Friday.
Earlier in the day, British Airways had announced on its Web site that passengers flying from London to the United States would be allowed to carry only one item onto a plane.
Law enforcement officials from around the world Saturday were investigating the background of the suspect, identified as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab. In Nigeria, a prominent banker told the Asssociated Press that he was meeting with security officials there because he feared his son was the suspect. Alhaji Umaru Mutallab told The A.P. Associated Press said his son was a one-time university student in London who had left Britain to travel abroad. He said his son hadn’t lived in London “for some time” but he wasn’t sure exactly where he went to.
“I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that,” the elder Mutallab said. He said he would provide more details later Saturday as he learned more from authorities.
What does it mean? We’re not out of the woods, obviously.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SATURDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
** THE COMMON THREADS OF AVATAR.Is Avatar the future of cinema? Probably. There has to be something to draw people away from their computers and home entertainment centers, and with television series now generally at least as good as if not better than feature films, there are fewer reasons to drive to a theater. But you’ll never see anything at home like Avatar, which nonetheless holds common thematic threads going back to the beginning of the director’s career.
I’ve liked director James Cameron’s films since The Terminator in 1984. But I was distinctly under-wowed by the first clip I saw from Avatar. Of course, I was viewing it on the screen of one of my laptops. Fortunately, I realized that I was seeing only a fraction of what could be available in the highly-immersive, richly-detailed 3D world Cameron was devising. … From my December 22nd essay.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Thursday at $78.35 per barrel. Energy markets are closed for Christmas weekend.
This is up about $44 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
In their Christmas weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
** OBAMA TODAY – FRIDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
Fresh off Senate passage of the national health care bill, the Obamas flew from Andrews Air Force Base to Hickam Air Force Base yesterday on Air Force One.
They arrived a little after 3 PM Hawaiian time. The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than in California. It’s GMT -10.
They then traveled by motorcade to Kailua, where the Obamas will stay during their 10-day visit to the president’s home state.
Kailua, a very scenic place with a population of 36,000 on the Windward side of Oahu, is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there on this Christmas morning.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
The first family touched down amid intense security in President Obama’s hometown yesterday and settled in for what is expected to be a 10-day vacation in Kailua, with apparent plans to decorate an 8-foot Noble fir Christmas tree last night.
Coast Guard personnel in semi-rigid boats patrolled the nearby Kawainui Canal, and a pair of gunboats sat behind Kailuana Loop, where the Obamas will be staying in a five-bedroom, beachfront home that’s up for sale for $8.9 million.
One of the Obamas’ neighbors, Dr. Scott Miscovich, helped one of his patients deliver two truckloads of poinsettias to the vacation home on Tuesday and saw a bare Christmas tree that the first family planned to decorate last night, Miscovich said.
The Coast Guard yesterday declared much of Kailua Bay around the Obama vacation home a security zone. And neighbors said the security ring around Obama was much tighter than during his last Christmas visit as the president-elect. “It was a little more local style last year,” said Ron Sutherland, whose home sits just outside four concrete barriers Secret Service agents placed at the entrance of Kailuana Loop.
Other than a steady throng of Honolulu police, Coast Guardsmen and Secret Service agents, the only people who could pass the barriers yesterday were those with identification showing they live in the neighborhood — or were on an approved list of visitors. As the curious were denied entrance, forcing them to turn around in his driveway, Sutherland said, “You can already tell it’s a lot bigger deal.”
Last Christmas, the Secret Service checkpoint was nearly a half-mile makai of North Kalaheo Avenue, giving people an opportunity to drive within yards of Obama’s vacation home. “Now they’re turning around in our driveways,” Sutherland said.
Directly across the street, Sharon and Scott Miscovich had an identical problem. “It was a lot less of everything last year,” Sharon said. “Now we get all the commotion.”
Secret Service agents had visited their home before the first family’s arrival and “apologized in advance for what was going to happen,” Sharon Miscovich said. Yesterday, all of the neighbors along Kailuana Place had to stay on their property and were barred from venturing on to city and county land as the presidential motorcade entered the neighborhood just after 3:30 p.m.
“We’re not overly happy, but it’s great for him (Obama), the state and for everybody involved,” Miscovich said.
ARRIVAL AT HICKAM
The Obamas stepped off of Air Force One at Hickam Air Force Base shortly before 3 p.m. The president was dressed in a blue-striped dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He walked down the stairs of the plane holding hands with his younger daughter Sasha, who was in a bright orange sundress.
They were followed by the first lady, who wore a sleeveless teal blue dress, bangle bracelets and metallic-colored flats. Michelle took the hand of older daughter Malia, who wore pink pants and a green floral top.
They were greeted on the tarmac by Gov. Linda Lingle, U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Adm. Robert F. Willard, Gen. Gary L. North and Col. Giovanni K. Tuck. Among those who took the long flight to Honolulu with the Obamas was U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka.
A black SUV was parked directly in front of the stairs. But the first couple instead chose to hold hands and walk about 25 yards to shake hands and pose for pictures with about 50 Hawai’i -based military and Secret Service personnel and their families gathered behind a metal fence.
The president held a baby, 11-month-old Parker Makiya-Torco of Kane’ohe, and posed for photos with her. Lena Torco, the baby’s grandmother, said the president called out ” ‘What a cutie! Come here!’ ” The baby’s mother works for the local Secret Service office.
“He’s from Hawai’i , so it’s wonderful he can come home,” Lena Torco said. Parker Makiya-Torco, dressed in a pink floral dress, appeared bewildered by all the commotion.
Waikele resident Raquel Gonzalez, 18, said she was surprised at how tall the couple is. Gonzalez got to shake hands with both of them. “He said ‘hi’ and ‘Mele Kalikimaka,’ ” Gonzalez said. “She’s really pretty.”
Kailua resident Marla Sullivan, 32, lives down the street from the Obama’s vacation home and greeted the Obamas at Hickam. “I told them Kailua Beach is beautiful today — and that I love them,” Sullivan said.
She was surprised that they did not appear jet-lagged despite the long flight from Andrews Air Force Base. “They looked fresh, they looked hot,” Sullivan said. While the couple are attractive on TV, “they look 10 times better in person.”
Manoa resident Elaine Chun, 66, was fortunate enough to get her copy of the Hawaii Inaugural Gala program signed by the president. Chun, also a local Secret Service employee, and her husband, Rodney, traveled to Washington, D.C., last January to attend the ball.
Rodney Chun, also 66, said it’s not surprising that the Obamas choose to vacation in Hawai’i each Christmas. “He has to come home here,” Chun said. “Where’s he going to go, to Chicago in the snow?”
U.S. Air Force Sgt. Maj. Alexis Ayala, 40, spent the day off hoping to get a glimpse of the president. “I really want to say ‘thank you’ for the great things he’s done to support our soliders,” said Ayala, who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.
“Please Come Home For Christmas,” performed by the Eagles at the Millennium Concert on December 31st, 1999 in Los Angeles.
‘MELE KALIKIMAKA’
The first couple spent a little more than five minutes shaking hands, thanking people for their service and wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Lingle gave the president a lei while Abercrombie draped a lei over the first lady’s neck. The two girls received lei from Hannemann.
Abercrombie said he was giving the president a T-shirt from the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and an invitation via University of Hawai’i Athletic Director Jim Donovan to attend the basketball tournament in Manoa.
Hannemann said the first words out of the president’s mouth as he greeted the official entourage was “Mele Kalikimaka.”
“So that was a great segue for me to say to him ‘e komo mai, welcome back Mr. President,’ ” Hannemann said.
Shortly after their motorcade arrived in Kailua, dark clouds and light rain greeted the Obamas, who settled in for a private Christmas Eve celebration. They have a low-key vacation planned on O’ahu, deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“When I said that there were no scheduled public events, there also aren’t a lot of scheduled private events,” Burton said. “I think the president is going to wake up and see where the day takes him.
“I’ve checked out the forecast for the entire time we’re there: Tomorrow it’s 81 and sunny, Friday it’s 81 and sunny, Saturday it’s 81 and sunny. So I think that the weather ought to lend itself to some outdoor activity.” …
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – FRIDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
It’s that time of year …
** NEW ESSAY COMING UP … DOCTOR WHO: THE ENDING IMPENDING.
** OBAMA’S REMARKS ON SENATE PASSAGE OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH CARE BILL.
Good morning, everybody. In a historic vote that took place this morning members of the Senate joined their colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass a landmark health insurance reform package — legislation that brings us toward the end of a nearly century-long struggle to reform America’s health care system.
Ever since Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform in 1912, seven Presidents — Democrats and Republicans alike — have taken up the cause of reform. Time and time again, such efforts have been blocked by special interest lobbyists who’ve perpetuated a status quo that works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people. But with passage of reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people.
The reform bill that passed the Senate this morning, like the House bill, includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny you coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition. They will no longer be able to drop your coverage when you get sick. No longer will you have to pay unlimited amounts out of your own pocket for the treatments you need. And you’ll be able to appeal unfair decisions by insurance companies to an independent party.
If this legislation becomes law, workers won’t have to worry about losing coverage if they lose or change jobs. Families will save on their premiums. Businesses that would see their costs rise if we do not act will save money now, and they will save money in the future. This bill will strengthen Medicare, and extend the life of the program. It will make coverage affordable for over 30 million Americans who do not have it — 30 million Americans. And because it is paid for and curbs the waste and inefficiency in our health care system, this bill will help reduce our deficit by as much as $1.3 trillion in the coming decades, making it the largest deficit reduction plan in over a decade.
As I’ve said before, these are not small reforms; these are big reforms. If passed, this will be the most important piece of social policy since the Social Security Act in the 1930s, and the most important reform of our health care system since Medicare passed in the 1960s. And what makes it so important is not just its cost savings or its deficit reductions. It’s the impact reform will have on Americans who no longer have to go without a checkup or prescriptions that they need because they can’t afford them; on families who no longer have to worry that a single illness will send them into financial ruin; and on businesses that will no longer face exorbitant insurance rates that hamper their competitiveness. It’s the difference reform will make in the lives of the American people.
I want to commend Senator Harry Reid, extraordinary work that he did; Speaker Pelosi for her extraordinary leadership and dedication. Having passed reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that I can sign into law. And I look forward to working with members of Congress in both chambers over the coming weeks to do exactly that.
With today’s vote, we are now incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country. Our challenge, then, is to finish the job. We can’t doom another generation of Americans to soaring costs and eroding coverage and exploding deficits. Instead we need to do what we were sent here to do and improve the lives of the people we serve. For the sake of our citizens, our economy, and our future, let’s make 2010 the year we finally reform health care in the United States of America.
Everybody, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.
Q: Do you have a holiday wish for the troops?
THE PRESIDENT: I do, and I will be actually — I’m on my way right now to call a few of them and wish them Merry Christmas and to thank them for their extraordinary service as they’re posted in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With the Senate having passed, by the vote of 60 to 39, a national health care bill early on the morning of Christmas Eve, President Barack Obama said that Congress is now “incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country.”
** OBAMA TODAY – THURSDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington, on Air Force One, and in Hawaii today.
The Senate, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding, passed the national health care bill early this morning, on a vote of 60 to 39.
At 5:45 AM Pacific, Obama delivered brief remarks in the State Dining Room.
The Obamas are now en route to Honolulu, Hawaii on Air Force One.
Obama is receiving his daily intelligence and economic briefings on Air Force One.
At 5:10 PM Pacific, the Obamas arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii.
They will be in the president’s home state till January 2nd.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
An air strike today in Yemen reportedly hit the home of Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical Yemeni-American imam linked to the gunman in the Fort Hood Army base attack in November. Al Qaeda leaders were apparently meeting there.
Ho ho ho.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – THURSDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
Word is coming out, unsuprisingly, that Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal next month will focus on cuts and a request for federal assistance.
First Lady Michelle Obama, with daughters Malia and Sasha, delivered some Christmas cheer to the Children’s National Medical Center on Tuesday. But Bo, the family dog, a gift of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, stole the show.
** OBAMA TODAY – WEDNESDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 10:45 AM Pacific, Obama does an interview with NPR’s Julie Rovner and Robert Siegel in the Oval Office.
At 11:15 AM Pacific, Obama does an interview with PBS’s Jim Lehrer in the Oval Office.
The topic? Health care. Obama will be emphasizing all the positive elements of the national health care reform bill for the outlets’ largely liberal audiences. Some on the left are still very upset that the public option is out of the Senate bill, though that seemed clear for quite awhile.
The Senate is meeting today to deal with national health care reform.
The bill has one additional hurdle to clear.
The Senate is now scheduled to vote on passage of the national health care reform bill at 5 AM Pacific on Christmas Eve.
Passage is assured.
Following passage of the bill, the Obamas will fly to Hawaii for the holidays. They’ll remain there until January 2nd.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
At a press conference in China, James Cameron talks about how the country has gone 3D for his latest epic, Avatar.
** THE COMMON THREADS OF AVATAR.Is Avatar the future of cinema? Probably. There has to be something to draw people away from their computers and home entertainment centers, and with television series now generally at least as good as if not better than feature films, there are fewer reasons to drive to a theater. But you’ll never see anything at home like Avatar, which nonetheless holds common thematic threads going back to the beginning of the director’s career.
I’ve liked director James Cameron’s films since The Terminator in 1984. But I was distinctly under-wowed by the first clip I saw from Avatar. Of course, I was viewing it on the screen of one of my laptops. Fortunately, I realized that I was seeing only a fraction of what could be available in the highly-immersive, richly-detailed 3D world Cameron was devising. …
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – WEDNESDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said today that a revamping of the nation’s health system is no longer a question of if, but when. He acknowledged that some issues remain to be resolved, but said the president is confident that will happen. The Senate will pass the bill this week.
** OBAMA TODAY – TUESDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence briefing and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
He has also met with the CEOs of several small and community banks in the Roosevelt Room.
At 1:10 PM Pacific, Obama meets with members of the National Economic Council in the Oval Office.
Also in the afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama visits the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Senate is meeting today to deal with national health care reform.
Last night, the bill cleared another procedural hurdle.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, whose president today sent Obama a confidential personal letter on the nuclear crisis.
And in Afghanistan, where the first contingent of surge Marines are arriving.
And in Pakistan, where some civilian leaders are endangered by revived anti-corruption laws.
Indian authorities suspect David Headley, the Chicago man arrested and charged by the U.S. in connection with the Mumbai terrorist siege that killed more than 150 people last year, could have been a CIA double agent.
He is also monitoring the strange case of David Headley, who may have been an American double agent.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – TUESDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Thursday at $78.35 per barrel. Energy markets are closed for Christmas weekend.
This is up about $44 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
President Barack Obama delivered this brief address on Friday at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
A short week on tap in presidential politics, and a nearly non-existent week in California politics.
This is due to Christmas, naturally — and incidentally, let me now quote Lane Pryce from the Mad Men season finale: “Very good, Happy Christmas!” — but the week will go on longer than otherwise due to the progress of national health care reform in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is determined to pass the bill before Christmas. And if the Republicans continue their tactics of delay — which allow them to demand lengthy readings of amendments — the final vote will take place on Christmas Eve.
Not that the giddy Democrats of last night would care much. In a very unusual middle of the night session, as Ted Kennedy’s widow Vicki watched in the visitors gallery, they defeated the Republican attempt to filibuster national health care reform on a straight party-line vote of 60 to 40.
Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson gave the Democrats the 60th vote needed to avert a Republican filibuster. As expected, Nelson came on the bill Friday night after marathon negotiations, which included California’s Barbara Boxer, over his concern that public funds not be used to fund abortions and to gain more federal funding for medicaid in his state.
After the Senate passes the bill, it then goes to conference with the House, which has already passed another version, one which includes the public option for health care coverage to compete with private insurers.
As expected, its removal was the price of Senator Joe Lieberman’s support. Which provoked a firestorm of sorts on the left, though hardly one as large as the firestorm on the right about the bill as a whole.
With Speaker Nancy Pelosi shepherding things in the House, the national health care bill will almost certainly achieve final passage next month, probably before Obama’s State of the Union address. There are differences between the two bills, with the House version having a public option yet stronger limits on abortion.
Is this a win for Obama? Of course. Though it does not include a public option, it does include many other things long sought by health care reform advocates.
How big a win is not yet clear.
The bill is not popular now, mainly due to the snowstorm surrounding it and the inherent complication of health care policy. Frankly, voters don’t understand the bill, and never have understood the interplay of health care issues beyond the sheerest generalities, which is why I’ve never liked the health care issue from a political standpoint. Once passed, it will be up to Obama to define the bill again. Which I gather he will do.
The dust starts settling from the deeply troubled UN climate conference this week. Generally, it went as I expected. However, Obama improvised to salvage a little something from the big nothing it was for most of its duration.
Obama returned late Friday night from Copenhagen, where he cobbled together a Copenhagen Accord of sorts. It’s a non-binding agreement that he worked out with the leaders of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa.
The UN climate conference Saturday, going into overtime over the weekend, accepted the accord, without actually adopting it.
Which is to say that, on a voice vote gaveled by the conference chair, the conference voted to “take note” of the accord. Nations are free to sign individually.
Which is more than a bit underwhelming, to say the least.
All this happened after Obama, upon arriving Friday in Copenhagen, scrapped most of his schedule to plunge into crisis talks with a wide variety of world leaders, including two long meetings with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Obama, staying nine hours longer than planned, had to press hard to salvage something from the deeply troubled UN climate summit. The accord is described in the NWN Weekend Edition.
Clearly, there is far more to do. Another UN climate summit is slated for December 2010 in Mexico City.
There may also be a UN summit of subnational governments prior to that in Los Angeles.
See my Wednesday piece linked below on what’s happening, what’s not happening, and why, and where it can go from here.
Landmark health care legislation backed by President Barack Obama passed its sternest Senate test late last night, overcoming a Republican filibuster on a 60-40 vote that all but assures its passage by Christmas.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence briefing and met with the National Economic Council in the Oval Office.
He has also honored SAVE Award winner Nancy Fichtner, who found a new way to save money for the federal government, and delivered remarks on making government more efficient in the Diplomatic Reception Room.
At 9 AM Pacific, Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 1:30 PM Pacific, Obama meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office. Their topics? The Iranian crisis, Israel, and Pakistan.
In other action, Vice President Biden hosts a conference call with mayors from across the country to discuss the economic stimulus.
The Senate is meeting today to deal with national health care reform.
** NEW ESSAY COMING UP … COMMON THREADS: AVATAR AND THE FILMS OF JAMES CAMERON.
Director James Cameron received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday. The Avatar director was joined at the unveiling ceremony by long-time pals Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and actress Sigourney Weaver.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles and Sacramento today.
At noon, he holds a press conference with Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully to announce $26.5 million in awards to counties across the state to help combat and reduce fraud in the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.
Schwarzenegger honored director James Cameron, whose new science fiction epic Avatar — an immersive, highly detailed 3D experience — opened around the world yesterday, at a Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Friday.
Cameron and Schwarzenegger worked together on The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and True Lies.
I expect them to work together again in the future.
The Canadian-born Cameron has also directed Titanic, The Abyss, and Aliens.
In its opening weekend, the nearly three-hour long Avatar grossed over $242 million worldwide. The studio calls this the “highest original content (non-sequel, non-franchise) opening weekend ever.” That included $77.35 million in domestic box office, depressed some by the massive snowstorm on the East Coast, yet still the highest December opening in history.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $40 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
In an impromptu Saturday press conference, President Barack Obama applauded the efforts of Senate Democrats who have successfully worked to get the 60 votes his heath care reform package needs for passage.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
He has no scheduled public events.
Obama is overseeing the effort to bring the national health care reform bill to a vote in the Senate in the next several days. He now has the 60 votes he needs to avert a Republican filibuster.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two Republicans come along for the ride now.
He is also reviewing options for the next phase of the Iranian nuclear crisis.
Iranian forces crossed over the border with Iraq for a time and seized an abandoned oil field, raising the Iranian flag over it. I think that was a signal of what can happen if it is pushed.
Iran also announced today that its scientists are accelerating the development of more nuclear centrifuges needed to enrich uranium.
Obama has set a deadline of the end of the year for successful movement on the diplomatic track, which Iran has thoroughly obfuscated for months.
That deadline will not be be met.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
Schwarzenegger appears today on CNN’s State of the Union.
Also appearing on the show are senior presidential advisor David Axelrod, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
In his weekend video/radio address, with Senate passage of a national health care reform bill close at hand, President Barack Obama looks back to the bipartisan Patients Bill of Rights, a bill that was defeated in Congress, and says that health insurance reform covers the same ground and more in terms of giving consumers the upper hand over their insurance companies.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
He has no scheduled public events.
The Senate is meeting again today, to pass the defense appropriations bill — which has been held up by Republicans seeking to delay a vote on national health care — and to deal with national health care reform.
Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson is now on board with the national health care bill, giving Democrats the 60th vote needed to avert a Republican filibuster.
As expected, Nelson came on the bill last night after marathon negotiations, which included California’s Barbara Boxer, over his concern that public funds not be used to fund abortions and to gain more federal funding for medicaid in his state.
Obama returned late last night from Copenhagen, where he cobbled together a Copenhagen Accord of sorts. It’s a non-binding agreement that he worked out with the leaders of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa.
The UN climate conference today, going into overtime, accepted the accord, without actually adopting it.
Which is to say that, on a voice vote gaveled by the conference chair, the conference voted to “take note” of the accord.
Nations are free to sign individually.
Which is more than a bit underwhelming, to say the least.
All this happened after Obama, upon arriving yesterday in Copenhagen, scrapped most of his schedule to plunge into crisis talks with a wide variety of world leaders, including two long meetings with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Obama, staying nine hours longer than planned, had to press hard to salvage something from the deeply troubled UN climate summit.
Clearly, there is far more to do. Another UN climate summit is slated for December 2010 in Mexico City.
There may also be a UN summit of subnational governments prior to that in Los Angeles.
See my Wednesday piece linked below on what’s happening, what’s not happening, and why, and where it can go from here.
A US-led initiative called the Copenhagen Accord has formed the centre-piece of a deal at UN climate talks in Copenhagen, despite some countries’ opposition. Below is an explanation of the main points in the agreement.
LEGAL STATUS
The Accord, reached between the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, contains no reference to a legally binding agreement, as some developing countries and climate activists wanted. Neither is there a deadline for transforming it into a binding deal, though UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it needed to be turned into a legally binding treaty next year.
The accord was merely “recognised” by the 193 nations at the Copenhagen summit, rather than approved, which would have required unanimous support. It is not clear whether it is a formal UN deal.
TEMPERATURE RISE
The text recognises the need to limit global temperatures rising no more than 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels. The language in the text shows that 2C is not a formal target, just that the group “recognises the scientific view that” the temperature increase should be held below this figure.
However, the accord does not identify a year by which carbon emissions should peak, a position resisted by some richer developing nations.
Countries are asked to spell out by 1 February next year their pledges for curbing carbon emissions by 2020. The deal does not spell out penalties for any country that fails to meet its promise.
FINANCIAL AID
The deal promises to deliver $30bn (£18.5bn) of aid for developing nations over the next three years. It outlines a goal of providing $100bn a year by 2020 to help poor countries cope with the impacts of climate change.
The accord says the rich countries will jointly mobilise the $100bn, drawing on a variety of sources: “public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance.”
A green climate fund will also be established under the deal. It will support projects in developing countries related to mitigation, adaptation, “capacity building” and technology transfer.
EMISSIONS TRANSPARENCY
The pledges of rich countries will come under “rigorous, robust and transparent” scrutiny under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In the accord, developing countries will submit national reports on their emissions pledges under a method “that will ensure that national sovereignty is respected.” Pledges on climate mitigation measures seeking international support will be recorded in a registry.
REVIEW OF PROGRESS
The implementation of the Copenhagen Accord will be reviewed by 2015. This will take place about a year-and-a-half after the next scientific assessment of the global climate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
However, if, in 2015, delegates wanted to adopt a new, lower target on global average temperature, such as 1.5C rather than 2C, it would be too late.
** NEW ESSAY COMING UP … COMMON THREADS: AVATAR AND THE FILMS OF JAMES CAMERON.
James Cameron was a young filmmaker with a background in B movies when he teamed up with Arnold Schwarzenegger to make The Terminator, the first of their three collaborations to reach the screen. Cameron’s Avatar, the most expensive film in history, is opening big around the world.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SATURDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
Schwarzenegger honored director James Cameron, whose new science fiction epic Avatar — an immersive, highly detailed 3D experience — opened around the world yesterday, at a Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Friday.
Cameron and Schwarzenegger worked together on The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and True Lies.
I expect them to work together again in the future.
The Canadian-born Cameron has also directed Titanic, The Abyss, and Aliens.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. …
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Friday at $73.36 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
This is up about $39 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
After a chaotic day into night of evanescent negotiation in Copenhagen, President Barack Obama said a “meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough” had been reached among the U.S., China and three other countries on an effort to curb climate change. But there is clearly an enormous amount of work to be done.
** QUICK HITS. After a fairly chaotic day of negotiations at the highest level in Copenhagen, the US, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa agreed to work to keep temperature rise to less than 2 degrees celsius (3.6 degrees fahrenheit) and to fund efforts to help poorer nations. But there are no binding targets on emissions, no cap and trade market, no, well, you get the picture. In general terms, this went as poorly as I expected. (See Wednesday’s column linked below.) There is more detail, but you get the gist. And then there’s the question of all the other nations. China was quite obstructionist and agreed to even this only after two lengthy meetings today between President Obama and Premier Wen. And Obama had a weak hand to play coming from America, where the sheerest obstructionism has barely ended, as still the biggest thing going is California’s program. … Iran briefly invaded Iraq and seized an oil field along the border today, then withdrew. There were no casualties. I started getting emails about this at 6 AM. What’s it about? Probably a signal of what can happen if Israel conducts air strikes on Iran’s rogue nuclear facilities. … With passage of a national health care reform bill in sight, Republican senators have a new obstructionist tactic. Forcing the reading of entire amendments to the bill, even if they are not going anywhere. This is a backdoor filibuster, designed to avert passage of the bill before Christmas.
** A LITTLE HOLIDAY ECONOMIC CHEER? It was announced this morning that California’s unemployment rate has dipped from 12.5% to 12.3%. Which is certainly better than an increase. And in better news, a new Gallup survey indicates that there may be a late surge in Christmas spending.
The average amount of money Americans predict they will spend on Christmas gifts this season is now $743, up from last month’s estimate and a healthy increase over Americans’ Christmas spending forecast at this time a year ago. Based on the latest Christmas spending estimate, Gallup forecasts that holiday sales this year have the potential to show a modest increase of 1% — marking a shift from last year, when Christmas spending was down 3.4% from the previous year.
This is still lower than it was before the recession.
** 9:30 AM UPDATE: President Obama will hold a second bilateral meeting today with Chinese Premier Wen at 10 AM Pacific in Copenhagen. He’s meeting now with other world leaders seeking to move some sort of “Copenhagen Accord” forward. But not, apparently, with a committment for binding targets to be adopted at the end of 2010.
There is to be another UN climate summit in December 2010, in Mexico City, as I’ve discussed before. And there may be a “subnational” summit in Los Angeles prior to that.
In Copenhagen today, President Barack Obama said that the world’s will to address climate change “hangs in the balance” and insisted that any deal must include transparency among nations.
** OBAMA REMARKS TO THE U.N. CLIMATE SUMMIT’S MORNING PLENARY SESSION.
Good morning. It’s an honor to for me to join this distinguished group of leaders from nations around the world. We come together here in Copenhagen because climate change poses a grave and growing danger to our people. You would not be here unless you – like me – were convinced that this danger is real. This is not fiction, this is science. Unchecked, climate change will pose unacceptable risks to our security, our economies, and our planet. That much we know.
So the question before us is no longer the nature of the challenge – the question is our capacity to meet it. For while the reality of climate change is not in doubt, our ability to take collective action hangs in the balance.
I believe that we can act boldly, and decisively, in the face of this common threat. And that is why I have come here today.
As the world’s largest economy and the world’s second largest emitter, America bears our share of responsibility in addressing climate change, and we intend to meet that responsibility. That is why we have renewed our leadership within international climate negotiations, and worked with other nations to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. And that is why we have taken bold action at home – by making historic investments in renewable energy; by putting our people to work increasing efficiency in our homes and buildings; and by pursuing comprehensive legislation to transform to a clean energy economy.
These actions are ambitious, and we are taking them not simply to meet our global responsibilities. We are convinced that changing the way that we produce and use energy is essential to America’s economic future – that it will create millions of new jobs, power new industry, keep us competitive, and spark new innovation. And we are convinced that changing the way we use energy is essential to America’s national security, because it will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help us deal with some of the dangers posed by climate change.
So America is going to continue on this course of action no matter what happens in Copenhagen. But we will all be stronger and safer and more secure if we act together. That is why it is in our mutual interest to achieve a global accord in which we agree to take certain steps, and to hold each other accountable for our commitments.
After months of talk, and two weeks of negotiations, I believe that the pieces of that accord are now clear.
First, all major economies must put forward decisive national actions that will reduce their emissions, and begin to turn the corner on climate change. I’m pleased that many of us have already done so, and I’m confident that America will fulfill the commitments that we have made: cutting our emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020, and by more than 80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.
Second, we must have a mechanism to review whether we are keeping our commitments, and to exchange this information in a transparent manner. These measures need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty. They must, however, ensure that an accord is credible, and that we are living up to our obligations. For without such accountability, any agreement would be empty words on a page.
Third, we must have financing that helps developing countries adapt, particularly the least-developed and most vulnerable to climate change. America will be a part of fast-start funding that will ramp up to $10 billion in 2012. And, yesterday, Secretary Clinton made it clear that we will engage in a global effort to mobilize $100 billion in financing by 2020, if – and only if – it is part of the broader accord that I have just described.
Mitigation. Transparency. And financing. It is a clear formula – one that embraces the principle of common but differentiated responses and respective capabilities. And it adds up to a significant accord – one that takes us farther than we have ever gone before as an international community.
The question is whether we will move forward together, or split apart. This is not a perfect agreement, and no country would get everything that it wants. There are those developing countries that want aid with no strings attached, and who think that the most advanced nations should pay a higher price. And there are those advanced nations who think that developing countries cannot absorb this assistance, or that the world’s fastest-growing emitters should bear a greater share of the burden.
We know the fault lines because we’ve been imprisoned by them for years. But here is the bottom line: we can embrace this accord, take a substantial step forward, and continue to refine it and build upon its foundation. We can do that, and everyone who is in this room will be a part of an historic endeavor – one that makes life better for our children and grandchildren.
Or we can again choose delay, falling back into the same divisions that have stood in the way of action for years. And we will be back having the same stale arguments month after month, year after year – all while the danger of climate change grows until it is irreversible.
There is no time to waste. America has made our choice. We have charted our course, we have made our commitments, and we will do what we say. Now, I believe that it’s time for the nations and people of the world to come together behind a common purpose.
We must choose action over inaction; the future over the past – with courage and faith, let us meet our responsibility to our people, and to the future of our planet. Thank you.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Copenhagen today, then en route to Washington.
Obama received his daily intelligence briefing while flying to Copenhagen on Air Force One.
The time in Copenhagen is nine hours later than California.
Following his arrival in Copenhagen, Denmark around midnight Pacific time, Obama and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen were scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting.
Instead of that, given the crisis state of the talks, Obama held a multilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Fakruddin Ahmed, Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, South African President Jacob Zuma, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
Obama then delivered brief remarks during the morning plenary session of the UN climate summit.
After that, Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo held an hour-long bilateral meeting.
Obama then participated in the official photos of heads of state and government, followed by a 45-minute bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
At 6 AM Pacific, Obama participates in the afternoon plenary session.
At 7:30 AM Pacific, Obama holds a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
Obama will depart Copenhagen sometime after that, with scheduling a bit up in the air pending events.
Obama is working on salvaging something from the deeply troubled UN climate summit in Copenhagen. See my latest piece linked below on what’s happening, what’s not happening, and why, and where it can go from here.
** NEW ESSAY COMING UP … COMMON THREADS: AVATAR AND THE FILMS OF JAMES CAMERON.
James Cameron was a young filmmaker with a background in B movies when he teamed up with Arnold Schwarzenegger to make The Terminator, the first of three collaborations to reach the screen. Today Cameron’s Avatar, the most expensive film in history, opens around the world.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
At 11:30 AM, Schwarzenegger delivers remarks at a ceremony where Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron will be honored with the 2,396th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
That takes place on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the historic Egyptian Theatre.
Cameron and Schwarzenegger worked together on The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and True Lies.
Cameron also directed a little film called Titanic.
The event is timed to coincide with the global launch today of Cameron’s new film, Avatar.
At 5:30 PM, Schwarzenegger participates in a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Martin Luther King Hospital in South Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger brokered a deal between the University of California Board of Regents and Los Angeles County to reopen the hospital in 2013.
The state Senate yesterday passed a compromise bill — opposed by the California Teachers Association — to qualify California for Obama Administration education challenge grants. But the Assembly won’t take it up till next month. The federal deadline is a month away.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. …
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is near a two-month low, occasioned by high inventories and a strengthening dollar.
This is up about $40 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Two hundred Mexican Navy marines stormed an upscale apartment complex and killed one of the biggest reputed drug cartel chiefs in a two-hour gun battle.
** QUICK HITS. The national health care debate keeps rolling on. It’s centered now on keeping a few liberal senators on board while reining in Nebraska’s conservative Democrat Ben Nelson. … Admiral Mike Mullen toured the Helmand River Valley today in southern Afghanistan, vowing that much of the area will be secured from the Taliban in the next few months. … Negotiators are still struggling in Copenhagen to come up with an interim accord even as President Barack Obama wings his way there through the night on Air Force One.
** CALIFORNIA 2010: BROWN LEADS ALL IN GOVERNOR’S RACE, MORE REPUBLICANS UNDECIDED, POIZNER’S MONEY SET TO RATTLE GOP RACE, CAMPBELL MAY EXIT RACE, OBAMA VERY POPULAR.A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shows former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown leading all Republicans. Ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who has been advertising for months without challenge, leads in the GOP primary by a big margin. Yet most Republicans are still undecided.
PPIC has Brown ahead of all Republicans: 43-37 over Whitman, 46-34 over Tom Campbell (who some think is the biggest threat to Brown, were he a fundraiser), and 47-31 over Steve Poizner.
I think those numbers are a bit low for Brown. A very reliable private poll has Brown 10 points ahead of the ex-eBay chief. This poll appears to undersample older voters.
Whitman leads in the GOP gubernatorial primary with 32%, to former Congressman Campbell’s 12% and state Insurance Commissioner Poizner’s 8%.
But the dynamics of the race are already changing.
Brown has cleared the Democratic field the year before the primary. He hasn’t declared his candidacy yet, and has spent less money than his last Democratic challenger, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, paid his chief strategist.
Now the Republicans are about to do battle, with Poizner — who made hundreds of millions of dollars when he sold his company, which pioneered cell phone tracking tech — putting $15 million from his personal fortune into the race to match Whitman’s record-breaking spending.
The ex-eBay chief, whose only experience in public affairs is as a co-chair of conservative GOP presidential campaigns, has already spent over $20 million.
I believe that Poizner will spend even more than the $15 million he’s donating to his bid this month.
Which is not to say that you can’t do a lot with $15 million.
And there is an additional factor. I am told that Campbell is seriously considering switching to the Senate race, in a bid to take on Barbara Boxer.
He could make a big impact in that race, which is essentially deadlocked between ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and far right Orange Conty Asseblyman Chck DeVore. Most GOP voters are undecided. As Campbell served in Congress and has twice run for the Senate, he would have a decent shot against two flawed candidates.
Meanwhile, in this state which President Barack Obama carried over Whitman’s presidential candidate, 61% to 37%, the president remains very popular.
His dip in national polls is not mirrored by his standing in California.
Obama has a whopping 61% approval rating in the Golden State.
** “TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS.” STATEMENT FROM BILL CLINTON ON HEALTH CARE. The former president had this to say today in reply to critics on the left:
“America stands at a historic crossroads. At last, we are close to making real health insurance reform a reality. We face one critical, final choice, between action and inaction. We know where the path of inaction leads to: more uninsured Americans, more families struggling to keep up with skyrocketing premiums, higher federal budget deficits, and health costs so much higher than any other country’s they will cripple us economically.
“Our only responsible choice is the path of action. Does this bill read exactly how I would write it? No. Does it contain everything everyone wants? Of course not. But America can’t afford to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
“And this is a good bill: it increases the security of those who already have insurance and gives every American access to affordable coverage; and contains comprehensive efforts to control costs and improve quality, with more information on best practices, and comparative costs and results. The bill will shift the power away from the insurance companies and into the hands of consumers.
“Take it from someone who knows: these chances don’t come around every day. Allowing this effort to fall short now would be a colossal blunder — both politically for our party and, far more important, for the physical, fiscal, and economic health of our country.”
With negotiations in disarray, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the climate summit in Copenhagen, saying all nations must come together and deliver a climate treaty.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and en route to Copenhagen today.
Obama has received the daily intelligence briefing and met with members of the National Economic Council in the Oval Office.
At 8 AM Pacific, Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 3:50 PM Pacific, Obama departs the White House on Marine One en route to Andrews Air Force Base.
At 4:05 PM Pacific, Obama departs Andrews Air Force Base on Air Force One en route to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Obama is prepping for the deeply troubled UN climate summit in Copenhagen. He’s there on Friday. See my new piece linked below on what’s happening, what’s not happening, and why, and where it can go from here.
Obama’s also dealing with something of a revolt on national health care reform, this time from elements of the left, which are upset about Joe Lieberman winning on the public option, which is now out of the Senate version of the bill.
This was fairly predictable.
The revolt is being led by Howard Dean, who has always been on the outs with the Obama crew.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi got the House to narrowly pass a $154 billion jobs bill. The vote was 217 to 212.
The Senate won’t deal with the bill till next year. The bill is intended to produce funding for worker training in high-growth and emerging industries, provide money for municipalities to hire more police and firefighters, and develop infrastructure.
Obama is also monitoring several geopolitical crises.
In Afghanistan, the first Marines in Obama’s new surge have begun arriving.
In Pakistan, there has been a slowdown in processing visas and other forms of cooperation with Americans. The government hasn’t articulated this all that clearly, but I think they don’t like the new Afghanistan strategy, which they fear will place greater pressure on their border provinces.
The Iranian nuclear crisis continues percolating. The House on Wednesday passed a bill by Los Angeles Congressman Howard Berman to impose new sanctions on Iran and on companies which aid the regime with refined petroleum products. Iran lacks the refining capacity to provide gasoline to at least a third of its people. The vote was 412 to 12.
Iranian officials said today it would make no difference in their plans.
A little film called Avatar had its Los Angeles premiere.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the Capitol today for private talks.
He’s pushing for action today in the Legislature on long delayed legislation to qualify California for Obama Administration education challenge grants.
He returned yesterday from Copenhagen where he took part in the UN climate summit.
Schwarzenegger’s speech can be viewed here on NWN in Tuesday’s edition below.
Schwarzenegger is pushing for a UN subnational summit in California next year. It would take place prior to the likely follow-on to Copenhagen — the talks this week aren’t likely to result in a new Copenhagen Protocol to follow the Kyoto Protocol — which will probably be in Mexico City.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. …
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is near a two-month low, occasioned by high inventories and a strengthening dollar.
This is up about $38 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
U.N. climate talks deadlocked Wednesday, two days before global leaders hoped to sign an agreement. Police confronted protesters outside the Copenhagen conference venue with pepper spray and batons.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing for the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. …
** OVER 60% WANT TO KEEP GITMO OPEN. When some activists criticize the Obama Administration for not having yet closed the infamous prison at Guantanamo Bay, they should look at public opinion in this nation. It’s overwhelmingly against closing Gitmo.
As I’ve said before, torture is a lot more popular than many would like to think.
According to a new Gallup Poll … Americans remain opposed to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and moving some of the terrorist suspects being held there to U.S. prisons: 30% favor such actions, while 64% do not. These attitudes could present a significant roadblock for President Obama at a time when he seeks congressional approval to move terrorist suspects from Guantanamo to a converted state prison in northwestern Illinois. …
At the end of May, it was 65-32 opposed.
President Obama signed an executive order after his inauguration that called for the closing of Guantanamo, and he recently reiterated his commitment to doing this in his West Point speech on Afghanistan. The plans announced this week represent the first concrete effort to follow through on his promise, but occur in the context of continuing opposition from the American public. About two-thirds of Americans in the Nov. 20-22 poll oppose such a move, virtually the same as measured last May.
An additional political challenge for Obama is the fact that he lacks strong support among rank-and-file Democrats as well. Half of Democrats agree that the Guantanamo Bay prison should be closed and some prisoners moved to the U.S., while 45% disagree. Twenty-eight percent of independents favor the prison closure. These partisan breaks are similar to what Gallup found in May.
Only 8% of Republicans favor Obama’s policy.
The regional breakdowns are the same across the country, with the West as opposed as the South.
Excerpt: “It can be foolish — maybe even dangerous — to underestimate Nancy Pelosi. A former stay-at-home mom of five who didn’t run for public office until she was almost 47, Pelosi holds the highest post ever attained by any woman in U.S. history, and stands second in line of succession to the presidency. She has consolidated more power than any other Speaker in modern history, scholars of the office believe. In the first year of the Obama presidency, she has used that power — and an 81-seat Democratic majority, the largest either party has enjoyed in the House in 14 years — to pass every item on his agenda: health care, energy, regulatory reform, education, pay equity. While most of the outside world’s attention has centered on the intrigue and machinations of the Senate, where bills get snarled in procedure and the 60-vote hurdle to overcome filibusters, “the amount of things the House has done this year has been mind-boggling,” says White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer.”
This is a good profile. But, typically of the East Coast “national” media, it doesn’t explain how she came to be a big player in California politics, which is what enabled her to be the dying Phil Burton’s choice to succeed him in Congress.
Pelosi, who I first met at a party at her home 30 years ago — she was a charming beauty who skillfully stage managed five kids and a doting husband while being the life of her own party — is the daughter and sister of Baltimore mayors. When Jerry Brown decided to run a late-breaking campaign for president in 1976, he had no national organization. But he knew Nancy Pelosi, then a socialite housewife in San Francisco. He made her his Maryland political director. And there, in his first presidential primary, he blitzed Jimmy Carter. Though Brown entered too late to stop Carter, who went on to win the presidency, he ended as the runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination.
As a reward, Brown made Pelosi Northern California chair of the Democratic Party. In the order of things in those days, she became state Democratic chair when the party leadership rotated back from Southern California. And she was off and running.
After meeting with Senate leaders yesterday, President Barack Obama says he is confident that Congress is on the verge of passing significant health insurance reform legislation.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have received the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
At 8:45 AM Pacific, Obama meets with Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams in the Oval Office.
At 9:10 AM Pacific, Obama meets with Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum in the Oval Office.
At 12:05 PM Pacific, Obama meets with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in the Oval Office.
At 2:15 PM Pacific, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a Hanukkah reception on the State Floor.
Obama is prepping for the troubled UN climate summit in Copenhagen. He’s there at the end of the week.
He is also monitoring several geopolitical crises.
In Afghanistan, an assassination attempt was made yesterday on the brother of the best commander in the fight against the Soviets, who himself was assassinated by Al Qaeda two days before 9/11. The country’s former vice president survived the attack, though some of his bodyguards did not.
The Iranian nuclear crisis continues percolating. The House yesterday passed a bill by Los Angeles Congressman Howard Berman to impose new sanctions on Iran and on companies which aid the regime with refined petroleum products. Iran lacks the refining capacity to provide gasoline to at least a third of its people.
The vote was 412 to 12.
Iran today conducted what it called a successful test of a solid fuel missile with a range of 1200 miles. That brings Israel easily into range, as well as some of southern Europe.
Recycling is a big business in China, but it’s still not keeping pace with the country’s growing waste production. Experts say the rubbish problem means increased greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Copenhagen for the UN climate summit today.
He is holding a variety of private talks today.
He also appeared on panels at the UN climate summit. The time in Copenhagen is nine hours later than the time in California.
Schwarzenegger addressed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change yesterday in Copenhagen. The speech can be viewed here on NWN in yesterday’s edition below.
Schwarzenegger received an award last night night in Copenhagen from the international Climate Group as the world’s top state or provincial level official on climate change. Earlier in the day, he ripped Sarah Palin on the issue in an interview with London’s Financial Times.
Schwarzenegger is pushing for a UN subnational summit in California next year. It would take place prior to the likely follow-on to Copenhagen — the talks this week aren’t likely to result in a new Copenhagen Protocol to follow the Kyoto Protocol — which will probably be in Mexico City.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war?
Obama has surprised many with his escalations in Afghanistan, and in winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I was surprised by his winning the Nobel. It’s undeserved, as I wrote here on the Huffington Post right after it happened two months ago.
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate.
The last major candidate to withdraw was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, as I broke on my NewWestNotes.com on October 30th. Before explaining the sudden end of his heavily-hyped candidacy, let’s go through the others. All the others, I should say. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is near a two-month low, occasioned by high inventories and a strengthening dollar.
This is up about $38 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the UN climate summit today in Copenhagen.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.
** QUICK HITS. President Barack Obama emerged from his meeting with Senate Democrats today saying that national health care reform is on the verge of passage. … Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger received an award tonight in Copenhagen from the Climate Group as the world’s top state or provincial level official on climate change. Earlier in the day, he ripped Sarah Palin on the issue in an interview with London’s Financial Times. … California’s revenues are running a billion dollars below forecasts, with a $400 million-plus downdraft in November. Look for another very rugged state budget. … LA Congressman Howard Berman’s Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act passed the House late today on the vote of 412 to 12. Now it goes to the Senate.
** BERMAN PUSHES NEW IRAN SANCTIONS. Los Angeles Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today started floor debate on his Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act, urging the House to act quickly to address what he calls an increasingly pressing global security threat.
That would be the prospect of Iran developing nuclear weapons.
“The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is the most serious and urgent strategic challenge faced by the United States, and we must use all of the diplomatic means at our disposal – including tougher sanctions – to prevent that from becoming a reality,” Berman declared.
The bill has 343 co-sponsors. It would sanction foreign companies that sell refined petroleum to Iran or help Iran with its own domestic refining capacity by depriving those companies of access to the US market.
While Iran is a big oil power, one of its Achilles heels is its dependence on foreign refineries to provide it with gasoline. Because of its economic difficulties the past several years, Iran sells gasoline to its citizens at bargain basement prices. Crimping the supply wold be like pinching a garden hose.
Berman moved the bill through the Foreign Affairs Committee in October.
Since then, he says, “Iran has had ample time to respond positively to President Obama’s generous engagement offer. Regrettably, the response has been only one of contempt. It is time for this body to act.”
Iran gets a lot of help from foreign companies. That’s why this bill targets them.
** NEW POLL: CONSUMER SPENDING DOWN FROM LAST YEAR. Highlighting the sluggish nature of the economic recovery, and people’s newfound tightfistedness, US consumer spending is down significantly for the past three weeks as compared to the same period last year.
According to a new Gallup survey: Self-reported consumer spending was down more than 20% in each of the last three weeks from last year’s depressed weekly comparables.
Considering that we were in the worst of the recession then, this is not a picture of a consumer-led recovery.
Clearly, additional stimulus is needed in this economy and psychology.
Consumer Spending fell slightly last week, as self-reported daily spending in stores, restaurants, gas stations, and online averaged $73 — down $2 from the previous week. More importantly, it was down 22% from last year’s comparable, when average spending was $94 per day. For the third week in a row, consumer spending has trailed last year’s anemic spending levels by more than 20%. While it remains unclear how consumers’ spending is being divided between Christmas gifts and other discretionary spending for such things as travel, entertainment, and eating out, consumers are reporting a significant decline in their perceived spending during recent weeks. …
Economic Confidence was essentially unchanged last week. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index was -27, versus -28 the prior week. Consumer assessments of the current economy were not much different, with 46% rating the economy “poor” — compared to 45% the prior week and 47% two weeks ago. …
Job Creation was unchanged again last week, as Gallup’s Job Creation Index was at +2, the same as the prior two weeks. Last week, 26% of employees said their companies are hiring — essentially the same as the 24% and 26% of the prior two weeks, respectively — while 24% said their companies are letting people go, also about the same as the 22% and 24% of the prior two weeks. Job-market conditions have improved from their bleak status of earlier in 2009, and currently match year-ago comparables, but have been essentially unchanged since October. …
The White House plans to announce Tuesday that the government will acquire an Illinois state prison. That prison will likely become the home to about 100 Guantanamo Bay detainees.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and Virginia today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
At 7:45 AM Pacific, he holds a meeting to discuss the economic impact of energy saving home retrofits with labor, manufacturing, and small business leaders at the Northern Virginia Home Depot.
At 8:10 AM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks on the economic impact of energy saving home retrofits at the Northern Virginia Home Depot.
At 9:15 AM Pacific, Obama has lunch with business leaders in the Private Dining Room.
At 10:40 AM Pacific, Obama meets with members of the Senate Democratic Caucus in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The principal topic? National health care reform. Obama will push for a vote soon in the Senate.
At 12 noon Pacific, Obama makes a statement to the press after meeting with Democratic Senators in the Diplomatic Reception Room.
At 1:45 PM Pacific, Obama and Vice President Biden meet with Secretary of Defense Gates in the Oval Office.
Obama is pushing for a vote soon in the Senate on health care. The public option per se is gone, due to unrelenting pressure from the insurance industry lobby and the perceived need for 60 votes in the Senate to avert filibuster. (Reconciliation, requiring only 51 votes, has not been employed.) The backup idea of expanding Medicare to those 55 and up is being blocked by Senator Joe Lieberman.
As Lieberman said earlier this fall that he wanted to expand Medicare to people in their fifties, and he’s made a series of erratic and erroneous statements on health care, it’s hard to view him as anything other than an obstructionist.
Obama continues his push to close the infamous prison at Guantanamo Bay in a secure way. The federal government will acquire the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois — the president’s home state, where state officials want the prisoners — to house a number of Gitmo prisoners.
Obama is monitoring several geopolitical crises.
A car bomb blast in the Afghan capital Tuesday killed at least 8 people and wounded 40. Former Vice President Ahmad Zia Massoud — brother of legendary Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated by Al Qaeda two days before 9/11 — was apparently the target. He survived the blast.
In Afghanistan, an assassination attempt was made today on the brother of the best commander in the fight against the Soviets, who himself was assassinated by Al Qaeda two days before 9/11.
The Iranian nuclear crisis continues percolating.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Copenhagen for the UN climate summit today.
He is holding a variety of private talks today.
Schwarzenegger addressed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change earlier today in Copenhagen.
Said Schwarzenegger: “Climate change is a global problem that demands global solutions, but while national governments have been fighting over emission targets, subnational governments like California have been adopting their own targets, laws and policies. And the truth is, the world’s national governments cannot make the progress that is needed on global climate change alone, they need the help of cities, states, provinces and regions in enacting real climate solutions. California has shown that a subnational government can lead the way to national change and I urge all of the world leaders here in Copenhagen to liberate the power beneath the national level to help us create an environment we can proudly pass down to our children, grandchildren and beyond.”
Since the time in Copenhagen is nine hours later than the time in California, that speech took place at 4:30 AM Pacific.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war?
Obama has surprised many with his escalations in Afghanistan, and in winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I was surprised by his winning the Nobel. It’s undeserved, as I wrote here on the Huffington Post right after it happened two months ago.
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate.
The last major candidate to withdraw was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, as I broke on my NewWestNotes.com on October 30th. Before explaining the sudden end of his heavily-hyped candidacy, let’s go through the others. All the others, I should say. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY.(NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is near a two-month low, occasioned by high inventories and a strengthening dollar.
This is up about $37 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
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