NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen appeared in Tripoli today to proclaim the end of the alliance’s mission in Libya, and to declare that NATO will not intervene in Syria.
** QUICK HITS.Libya’s National Transitional Council chose a new prime minister, University of Alabama electrical engineering professor Abdurrahim el-Keib, who is to appoint a new government that will pave the way for general elections. El-Keib, an NTC member from Tripoli with a master’s degree from the University of Southern California and a doctorate from North Carolina State University, says he will appoint new ministers within the next month. … Reacting immediately to UNESCO’s admission of Palestine as a member state, the Obama Administration retaliated as required by US law (bills signed by the first President Bush and Bill Clinton) by cutting off all US funding to the UN agency. That includes $60 million that was to be paid next month. The US has provided a fifth of UNESCO’s funding. But the US did this before, pulling out of UNESCO during the Reagan Administration. … And Bosnia, a member of the UN Security Council, reacted today to heavy lobbying from Israel and the US by announcing that it will abstain on the question of full UN recognition of Palestine. The Palestinians had counted Bosnia as a yes vote. … Republican presidential frontrunner Herman Cain denies sexually harassing anyone, saying that any payments made by the National Restaurant Association to settle claims against him were to make the issue disappear without publicity. More to follow.
** NEW POLL: HIGHER THAN USUAL INTEREST IN POLITICS, DRIVEN BY OLDER WHITE CONSERVATIVES. A new Gallup Poll survey reveals that popular levels of interest in politics are higher than normal in the US.
But that’s driven by much higher interest levels among white conservative voters 65 and up.
The poll doesn’t say it, but I think we can ascribe this to the Fox Factor. Fox News does a good job of keeping its people riled up and engaged.
But we already knew that. And we already know it’s an echo chamber. And conservative interest is about the same as it was in 2008, when of course, they lost.
Intriguingly, liberals and moderates are showing less interest in politics, even with the rise of and consequent attention paid to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Of course, that’s a new phenomenon of about a month’s duration.
Americans’ interest in national politics is holding at the elevated level seen in 2009 after record-high attention paid in 2008. More than one in three Americans (35%) say they are following news about national politics “very closely,” a greater percentage than Gallup has found in non-election years prior to 2008. …
Certain groups are significantly more likely to be paying close attention to national political news today than they were at a similar time leading up to the 2008 presidential election. Conservatives, those 65 and older, Republicans, and postgraduates have all registered double-digit increases compared with September 2007. Americans aged 18 to 29 remain the least likely to say they are following national political news very closely. …
Conservatives’ current heightened interest in national politics essentially matches the record-high level of interest they showed in 2008, just before that year’s presidential election. This is especially noteworthy, considering the 2008 survey was conducted just after the Republican National Convention that year. In contrast, liberals’ and moderates’ interest is down from September 2008.
Republican presidential frontrunner Herman Cain is beset today by allegations of past sexual harassment while head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
A very big week on tap in presidential politics, and a fairly big week in California politics as well.
President Barack Obama, monitoring the shifting fortunes of his would-be Republican rivals, as well as a host of geopolitical crises, is off to France for the G-20 summit on Thursday and Friday. There he and other world leaders will address the state of a rickety global economy that is barely escaping a renewed recession. And in California, Governor Jerry Brown’s administration unveils a revamped high speed rail plan and looks to weather the call for a general strike in Oakland on Wednesday, the first anniversary of Brown’s landslide election to his record third term.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential frontrunner Herman Cain is beset by a story placed in Politico of sexual harassment complaints made against him in the 1990s while he served as director of the National Restaurant Association. Cain has held up better than most observers expected, so it was inevitable that any existing material of this nature would be used against him, and that it would be Politico, a conveyer belt for political operatives, that would serve as at least one of the vehicles.
Are the allegations true? I have no idea. Settlement payments may well have been made, but that’s not an uncommon practice in the corporate world to avoid public unpleasantness. Clearly, however, this is bad news for Cain, and he hasn’t handled it well early on.
Despite gaffes, Cain has been holding up as the national frontrunner in the contest.
He and Mitt Romney lead the pack in Iowa, with 23% and 22%, respectively. Cain is up 13 points since the last such poll, in June, despite spending virtually no time in the state. Romney, mindful of the state’s large numbers of fundamentalist voters, and of his own loss there in 2008 after investing heavily in the state, also hasn’t campaigned there much.
Ron Paul is third with 12%, followed by Michele Bachmann at 8% and Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich both at 7%. Rick Santorum has spent the most time in Iowa, and is at 5%. Jon Huntsman, who isn’t contesting the state, is at 1%.
If Romney makes a big move in Iowa, he might wrap up the nomination quickly. But if he tries and loses again, his chances elsewhere will be heavily affected.
What does the poll mean? That the state is up for grabs.
Things can move very quickly in presidential primaries and caucuses, which makes investing too much significance in polls beforehand problematic.
For example, when I flew to Des Moines in January 1984, having just attended Apple’s public unveiling of the first Macintosh computer, Gary Hart was running fifth in polling in the Iowa Democratic caucuses.
Four weeks later, he finished second, which established him as a major presidential contender and provided him the needed springboard to win the New Hampshire primary eight days after that.
Today is a major milestone, with the United Nations saying that Earth is now home to seven billion people. It was just 12 years ago that the planet’s population hit the six billion mark. Then the UN designated a Bosnian boy as the world’s six billionth citizen. But the boy was quickly forgotten, and this time there is no young Ms. or Mr. 7 Billion.
NATO ends its intervention in Libya at midnight tonight, seven and a half months after it began. Thus confounding many predictions of an endless bog for the Western alliance.
The Palestinians continued their drive for UN recognition of their statehood this morning in Paris, winning membership in UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The vote was 107 nations in favor, 14 against, and 52 abstaining. Congress threatened to pull US funding for the agency, some $80 million, or one-fifth its budget, if Palestine was admitted as a member. In addition to providing momentum toward the Palestinians’ goals, it also gives the new member state the ability to seek world historical monument classification for major cultural sites, appropriating them from Israeli definition and control. Sites such as, say, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
What does the US do post-Iraq, with the Iraqi parliament refusing to allow immunity from prosecution for US troops but concerns continuing about post-pull-out stability (and counter-weights to Iran)?Load up some elsewhere in the Gulf, with a potential rapid response force in Kuwait and added naval and air assets coordinating in a tighter alliance with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The GCC being the regional alliance that assisted heavily in Libya, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
Violence has continued in Syria over the past few days, with Assad regime forces gunning down at least 40 more protesters. Anti-regime demonstrators have begun calling for a no-fly zone over Syria, similar to that in Libya.
Protesters have begun calling for a no-fly zone as army units defect from the Assad regime, thus making them targets of Assad regime air assets.
The Taliban struck again with several deadly attacks over the weekend across Afghanistan, the most damaging of which was in central Kabul where 13 US soldiers and four Afghans were killed in a suicide bombing of their bus outside the entrance to American University. It was the largest single loss of American life in the conflict since the August shoot-down of a helicopter containing dozens of Navy SEALs.
Back in California politics, the loose-knit Occupy Wall Street forces’ Oakland affiliate is going ahead with an attempted general strike in Oakland on November 2nd. But it will be hard for there to be an actual general strike without most people going on strike. Which seems very unlikely. Labor has contracts, for one thing, and seems to be going with solidarity motions in lieu of actual strikes.
But there could be substantial symbolic disruption on Wednesday, which happens to be the first anniversary of the election of Oakland’s former mayor, one Jerry Brown, as governor of California.
The day before that, on Tuesday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority will unveil its revised business plan in an event at the historic California Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, not far from the Western terminus of the Pony Express. There had been an earlier plan to unveil it at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon, which made absolutely no sense.
Brown’s public pension reform proposal, discussed at length here last week, has won widespread plaudits from editorialists and the like, but mostly brickbats and ominous silence from public employee unions. This is short-sighted on their part, as I’ll discuss in detail moving forward.
We’ll also see if some rumored initiatives emerge this week.
Here’s what Obama’s week looks like.
On Monday, Obama will meet with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House. The topic? The complex Palestinian/Israeli situation.
On Tuesday, Obama will participate in interviews with local TV anchors from markets across the country.
On Wednesday, Obama continue prepping for the G-20 summit and will attend meetings at the White House.
On Thursday and Friday, Obama will be in Cannes, France for the G-20 Summit. He will return to Washington on Friday night.
A Taliban attack inside a secured portion of Kandahar today killed five people working with the United Nations assistance mission in Afghanistan.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have received the daily intelligence and economic briefing and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
Obama then met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, special envoy for the Middle East Quartet, in the Oval Office.
At 9:20 AM Pacific, Obama signs an executive order in the Oval Office on prescription drugs for life-threatening illnesses. It will require more reporting of shortages, accelerate reviews needed for production of the drugs, and increase scrutiny of potential price gouging.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
** “OUT OF CONTEXT”: HILLARY’S P.R. OFFENSIVE.It’s been a tumultuous time lately for the Obama Administration in geopolitics, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is more prominent than ever. The polls are strong for her, but the reality is more problematic.
It makes sense for Clinton to be so prominent now. Even when people believed in the economic recovery, President Barack Obama’s extensive early foreign travel had quickly diminishing returns in PR terms. And Hillary brings the Clinton clout which she and Bill have built over many years.
But, aside from Libya, to which she paid a happy visit on October 18 having championed the limited U.S. intervention policy over opposition from then Defense Secretary Bob Gates, she’s been busy spinning up some unsuccessful/highly unconvincing stuff. … From my October 29th column.
** STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted again at last week’s memorial service, Steve Jobs liked to say that he modeled his business after the Beatles. So it was interesting to have been around when the Beatles broke up, i.e., when Jobs was fired in the ’80s from the company he so famously co-founded and led. … From my October 26th essay.
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
A Russian cargo ship to the International Space Station was successfully launched today, ending the stoppage occasioned by a rocket failure in the late summer.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $92 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $58 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $22 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Despite gaffes, Herman Cain is holding up as the national frontrunner in the contest.
He and Mitt Romney lead the pack in Iowa, with 23% and 22%, respectively. Cain is up 13 points since the last such poll, in June, despite spending virtually no time in the state. Romney, mindful of the state’s large numbers of fundamentalist voters, and of his own loss there in 2008 after investing heavily in the state, also hasn’t campaigned there much.
Ron Paul is third with 12%, followed by Michele Bachmann at 8% and Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich both at 7%. Rick Santorum has spent the most time in Iowa, and is at 5%. Jon Huntsman, who isn’t contesting the state, is at 1%.
If Romney makes a big move in Iowa, he might wrap up the nomination quickly. But if he tries and loses again, his chances elsewhere will be heavily affected.
What does the poll mean? That the state is up for grabs.
Things can move very quickly in presidential primaries and caucuses, which makes investing too much significance in polls beforehand problematic.
For example, when I flew to Des Moines in January 1984, having just attended Apple’s public unveiling of the first Macintosh computer, Gary Hart was running fifth in polling in the Iowa Democratic caucuses.
Four weeks later, he finished second, which established him as a major presidential contender and provided him the needed springboard to win the New Hampshire primary eight days after that.
What does the US do post-Iraq, with the Iraqi parliament refusing to allow immunity from prosecution for US troops but concerns continuing about post-pull-out stability (and counter-weights to Iran)?Load up some elsewhere in the Gulf, with a potential rapid response force in Kuwait and added naval and air assets coordinating in a tighter alliance with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The GCC being the regional alliance that assisted heavily in Libya, comprised of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
Violence has continued in Syria over the past few days, with Assad regime forces gunning down at least 40 more protesters. Anti-regime demonstrators have begun calling for a no-fly zone over Syria, similar to that in Libya.
Protesters have begun calling for a no-fly zone as army units defect from the Assad regime, thus making them targets of Assad regime air assets.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES – SUNDAY. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
In his weekly video/radio address, President Barack Obama discusses reports of sharp rises in income inequality, talks up his economic proposals, and hones his do-nothing Congress theme.
** “OUT OF CONTEXT”: HILLARY’S P.R. OFFENSIVE.It’s been a tumultuous time lately for the Obama Administration in geopolitics, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is more prominent than ever. The polls are strong for her, but the reality is more problematic.
It makes sense for Clinton to be so prominent now. Even when people believed in the economic recovery, President Barack Obama’s extensive early foreign travel had quickly diminishing returns in PR terms. And Hillary brings the Clinton clout which she and Bill have built over many years.
But, aside from Libya, to which she paid a happy visit on October 18 having championed the limited U.S. intervention policy over opposition from then Defense Secretary Bob Gates, she’s been busy spinning up some unsuccessful/highly unconvincing stuff. …
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefing and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 2:45 PM Pacific, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome local children and military families to trick-or-treat at the White House on the North Portico.
At 5:20 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at the National Italian American Foundation Gala at the Washington Hilton.
The Des Moines Register publishes its Iowa poll of Republican presidential candidates Saturday evening. That will be very interesting.
Despite gaffes, Herman Cain is holding up as the national frontrunner in the contest.
A Taliban terrorist attack Saturday morning in the Afghan capital Kabul killed 17 people, including 13 US soldiers.
The Taliban struck with several deadly attacks today across Afghanistan, the most damaging of which was in central Kabul where 13 US soldiers and four Afghans were killed in a suicide bombing of their bus outside the entrance to American University.
It was the largest single loss of American life in the conflict since the August shootdown of a helicopter containing dozens of Navy SEALs.
In Libya, the new government and the International Criminal Court are at odds over Seif Gaddafi, who wants to surrender to the ICC, which has charged him with crimes against humanity. The Libyans want him kept in the country, not that they have been able to catch him themselves.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES – SATURDAY. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
The loose-knit Occupy Wall Street forces’ Oakland affiliate is going ahead with an attempted general strike in Oakland on November 2nd. But it will be hard for there to be an actual general strike without most people going on strike. Which seems very unlikely. Labor has contracts, for one thing, and seems to be going with solidarity motions in lieu of actual strikes.
But there could be substantial symbolic disruption next Wednesday, which happens to be the first anniversary of the election of Oakland’s former mayor, one Jerry Brown, as governor of California.
The day before that, on Tuesday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority will unveil its revised business plan in an event at the historic California Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, not far from the Western terminus of the Pony Express. There had been an earlier plan to unveil it at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon, which made absolutely no sense.
** STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted again at last week’s memorial service, Steve Jobs liked to say that he modeled his business after the Beatles. So it was interesting to have been around when the Beatles broke up, i.e., when Jobs was fired in the ’80s from the company he so famously co-founded and led. … From my October 26th essay.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections. … From my October 20th essay.
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
A new Mission Impossible picture hits theaters in December.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 $93.32 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
This is up about $59 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $21 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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 gunman opened fire on the US embassy in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo today, but no one is reported to have been killed or wounded aside from the shooter. The suspect, now in custody, is described as an Islamic fundamentalist.
** QUICK HITS. The loose-knit Occupy Wall Street forces’ Oakland affiliate is going ahead with an attempted general strike in Oakland on November 2nd. But it will be hard for there to be an actual general strike without people going, you know, on strike. Which seems very unlikely. Labor has contracts, for one thing, and seems to be going with solidarity motions in lieu of actual strikes. But there could be substantial symbolic disruption next Wednesday, which happens to be the first anniversary of the election of Oakland’s former mayor, one Jerry Brown, as governor of California. … The day before that, on Tuesday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority will unveil its revised business plan in an event at the historic California Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, not far from the Western terminus of the Pony Express. There had been an earlier plan to unveil it at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon, which made absolutely no sense.
** SHAPES OF THINGS: BROWN CLIMATE, AND ANOTHER ROMNEY FLIP, AND FLOP. Poor Mitt Romney. He just can’t decide whether he’s coming or going.
Speaking Thursday in Pittsburgh, the ex-Massachusetts governor and leveraged buyout artist, whose career high point will be his saving of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, came down on the side of the greenhouse deniers.
“My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet,” Romney said in the speech, a clip of which was posted by the liberal blog Think Progress. “And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us.”
But over the summer, he said the exact opposite.
“I don’t speak for the scientific community, of course,” Romney said at a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire. “But I believe the world’s getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that.”
Prior to that, naturally, Romney had sounded like a greenhouse skeptic.
But before that, he embraced the overwhelming view of the scientific community.
No surprise, then, that Jon Huntsman today called Romney “a perfectly-lubricated weather vane.”
A big Romney backer once told me, reassuringly, that “Mitt doesn’t really believe what he’s saying.”
To which I said, which time?
Someone who does have a consistent view of climate change is Governor Jerry Brown. He’s getting set to host a conference on climate change in mid-December in his home town of San Francisco.
His predecessor, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course hosted three big global climate summits co-sponsored with the United Nations, in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Brown’s affair looks to be on a lesser scale, perhaps more strictly focused on the effects of a changing climate upon California.
Schwarzenegger may still be filming The Last Stand over in New Mexico at that point, but there is a clear movie tie-in nonetheless.
Brown’s conference will take place at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, a wonderful facility founded just a few years after the California Gold Rush in the middle of the 19th century, which is when Brown’s ancestors came to the Golden State.
The first time Brown was governor, his administration allowed the makers of 1979′s Time After Time to film at the California Academy of Sciences.
In the story of the film, H.G. Wells, who was a favorite of Brown, actually does invent a time machine. Which, after Jack the Ripper uses it to escape capture in Victorian era London, Wells uses himself to go after the gentleman murderer, who turns out to be one of his circle of friends.
But he finds himself in then contemporary San Francisco, for the contents of his London home are on display in an H.G. Wells exhibition at, yes, the California Academy of Sciences.
Not long after, in the spring of 1980, Brown gave one of the seminal speeches of his career — which I wrote about at length in December — during his second presidential campaign.
Directed as a live television special by Francis Ford Coppola, it was entitled “The Shape of Things To Come,” named after a famous H.G. Wells novel.
While the shape of things to come remains quite coherent for Brown, its incoherence for Romney is a poor portent.
** NEW POLL: DISENGAGED NATION. One sign of a society, or a person, that is adrift is a lack of engagement.
Welcome to the US.
A new Gallup Poll reveals that more than two-thirds of Americans are disengaged from their work.
Either because they don’t like their work, they’re too distracted by a distracting media culture, or too overwhelmed by their lives.
The least likely to be engaged, seemingly paradoxically, are the highly-educated and more experienced.
Seventy-one percent of American workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” in their work, meaning they are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and are less likely to be productive. That leaves nearly one-third of American workers who are “engaged,” or involved in and enthusiastic about their work and contributing to their organizations in a positive manner. This trend remained relatively stable throughout 2011. …
These findings are from a special Gallup Daily tracking series conducted on an ongoing basis since the fourth quarter of 2010 to explore American workers’ engagement levels. Gallup’s employee engagement index is based on worker responses to 12 actionable workplace elements with proven linkages to performance outcomes, including productivity, customer service, quality, retention, safety, and profit. Further research shows significant linkages between engagement at work and health and wellbeing outcomes.
Gallup has also found that engaged employees are twice as likely as those who are actively disengaged to say their employer is hiring. The national engagement data reveal that businesses in the U.S. — and in turn, the U.S. economy as a whole — might not be reaching maximum worker performance because of the high percentage of not engaged and actively disengaged employees. Increasing the percentage of engaged workers in the U.S. could spur a significant amount of job growth, as detailed in Gallup’s latest book, The Coming Jobs War.
Because jobs are more complex and require employees to have higher levels of skills and knowledge, business should be concerned that the more highly educated workers are less engaged. The less engaged employees are with their work and their organization, the more likely they are to leave to an organization. Turnover can be costly, and turnover in professional roles, such as nurses or engineers, is more costly than turnover in entry-level or front-line roles. …
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, now on a PR offensive, again criticized Pakistan while defending the Afghan War during Thursday testimony on Capitol Hill.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … “OUT OF CONTEXT”: HILLARY’S P.R. OFFENSIVE.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefing and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 1 PM Pacific, Obama meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office.
At 2:10 PM Pacific, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend a Diwali reception in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The festival of lights is celebrated by Hindus and some people of other faiths around the world.
Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party has officially won 90 of the 217 seats in the parliament of the nation where the Arab awakening began. Insisting that it will respect women’s rights, it looks to form a coalition government with two left-of-center parties.
As expected, Prince Nayef was named on Thursday Saudi Arabia’s new crown prince and heir apparent to King Abdullah, who is in his late 80s. Nayef, a mere youth of 77 or so, has been the Saudi interior minister since 1975, which is when Jerry Brown was California’s governor the first time around. Nayef is against elections and opposes allowing women to drive.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the midst of a PR offensive on her diplomatic approach complete with a Time magazine cover, testified yesterday on Capitol Hill, saying that Afghan President Hamid Karzai was “taken out of context” when, just two days after her visit to Kabul, he said that he would side with Pakistan in any conflict with the US.
Moammar Gaddafi’s one-time powerhouse son, the London School of Economics-educated Seif Gaddafi, is reportedly in the southern Libyan desert. He wants to turn himself in to the International Criminal Court rather than face the mob justice which descended on his father a week ago. But he needs transport.
Closer to home, the Federal Communications Commission is launching a $4.5 billion Connect America Fund to bring the millions still off-line into the online world. The FCC says it’s time for all Americans to move “from the era of Alexander Graham Bell into the era of Steve Jobs”
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
A crowd of at least 1,000 people attended a vigil Thursday night in Oakland for the Iraq War veteran who suffered a fractured skull during a clash between demonstrators and police.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
Reaction is coming in to his public pension reform proposal, discussed at length here in yesterday’s edition.
Not surprisingly, labor is largely opposed and majority Democratic legislators are, let’s say, hesitant
After Tuesday night’s tumultuous confrontation with the Oakland Police Department, the East Bay portion of the loose-knit Occupy Wall Street movement voted on Wednesday night to call for a general strike in Oakland on November 2nd. Which happens to be the first anniversary of the election of one Jerry Brown, Oakland’s former mayor. (He was succeeded first by socialist former Congressman Ron Dellums, now a Washington lobbyist, and then by left-liberal Jean Quan.) The Occupy Oakland core group was to discuss the Oakland general strike last night.
While it’s highly unlikely that this group can pull off anything so monumental as an actual general strike, it can certainly get a lot of attention. I’ll report later on what is coming.
** STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted again at last week’s memorial service, Steve Jobs liked to say that he modeled his business after the Beatles. So it was interesting to have been around when the Beatles broke up, i.e., when Jobs was fired in the ’80s from the company he so famously co-founded and led. … From my October 26th essay.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections. … From my October 20th essay.
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
After a five-year delay, an Earth-observing satellite launched this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to test new technologies aimed at improving weather forecasts and monitoring climate change.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $59 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $21 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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, following a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, just arrived from emergency European Union meetings, hailed major progress in stabilizing the Eurozone’s financial crisis.
** QUICK HITS. After Tuesday night’s tumultuous confrontation with the Oakland Police Department, the East Bay portion of the loose-knit Occupy Wall Street movement voted yesterday to call for a general strike in Oakland on November 2nd. Which happens to be the first anniversary of the election of Governor Jerry Brown, Oakland’s former mayor. (He was succeeded first by socialist former Congressman Ron Dellums, now a Washington lobbyist, and then by left-liberal Jean Quan.) The Occupy Oakland core group is discussing the Oakland general strike tonight. … Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party has officially won 90 of the 217 seats in the parliament of the nation where the Arab awakening began. Insisting that it will respect women’s rights, it looks to form a coalition government with two left-of-center parties. … As expected, Prince Nayef was today named Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and heir apparent to King Abdullah, who is in his late 80s. Nayef, a mere youth of 77 or so, has been the Saudi interior minister since 1975, which is when Jerry Brown was California’s governor the first time around. Nayef is against elections and opposes allowing women to drive. … Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the midst of a PR offensive on her diplomatic approach complete with a Time magazine cover, testified today on Capitol Hill, saying that Afghan President Hamid Karzai was “taken out of context” when, just two days after her visit to Kabul, he said that he would side with Pakistan in any conflict with the US.
** JERRY-RIGGING: PUBLIC PENSIONS, AGAIN. Governor Jerry Brown has waded back into the fray on public pensions, offering some proposals he’s discussed before — both in the campaign and earlier this year — and adding a few big new twists in the bargain. Brown would like his proposals approved both by legislators and the voters on the November 2012 ballot.
The reaction in both parties is mixed.
Which reflects the highly polarized state of affairs on the issue, as well as the confusion experienced by partisans in dealing with a politician who doesn’t fit into the cookie cutter molds.
Democrats, as shown in this week’s hearing by the legislature’s joint committee on pensions, are geared to protecting and promoting public employee unions. Republicans are focused on attacking public employee unions.
The labor folks like to pooh-pooh the idea that there is a fiscal Titanic downstream. The anti-labor folks tend to exaggerate the crisis, and conflate it with other matters.
Pure politics is central to both party’s calculations. The Democrats have become very dependent on public employee union funding. Their politicians, especially at the legislative and frequently at the local levels, live and die on it.
Naturally, the Republicans, desperately clinging to the shards of power in California, where their ideology is unpopular, want to do everything possible to hurt the Democrats’ core funders while promoting the corporations still at least somewhat loyal to them.
And so you have the spectacle of a legislative hearing on public pensions totally dominated by public employee union reps, receiving deferential questions from majority Democratic legislators and potshots from Republicans.
As for Brown’s proposal, it’s not what a lot of labor folks like to hear. Especially not from a famous Democrat who, after all, granted the public unions the right to collective bargaining in the first place. He goes into some detail in providing context for his plans here. Brown points out that fundamental retirement assumptions were based on life span expectations which have changed dramatically in the nearly 80 years since California established its retirement system. And that the pension system was changed to allow for earlier retirement even as life spans were increasing.
Brown would raise the retirement age to 67 for all new public employees (with the exception of some public safety employees, who will still be retiring later than they are now), require that all employees contribute at least half the annual cost of their pension benefits (this is something not mentioned in pre-publicity, can you hear the screams from labor now?), establish a hybrid “risk-sharing” plan combining defined benefits with contributed benefits, stop pension “spiking” based on an out-the-door pay hike, limit post-retirement employment, require that felons forfeit pension benefits, stop retroactive pension increases, prohibit pensions holidays (in which pension contributions were halted during stock market booms), halt the “airtime” practice of purchasing additional retirement benefits in advance at a sharp discount, require more state service for health care benefits, and place two new public members on the CalPERS board.
As you can see, Brown’s plan deals primarily with making the system sustainable moving forward. It largely does not address the question of whether the system is sustainable with regard to future obligations to current employees.
That’s in part due to the fact that these workers are under contract. And in part due to the fact that it is political dynamite.
I’m hearing there may be a pension initiative next year with “claw-back” provisions, in which benefits currently promised to workers are withdrawn. But that is a matter for another day.
Reading between the lines in the reactions to Brown’s proposal from Democratic legislative leaders, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and, of course, Assembly Speaker John Perez seem to me to be notably unenthusiastic. If anything, Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway was more enthusiastic.
Business leaders are responding pretty positively, while labor is sounding disappointed and, in some cases, hostile.
Naturally, there will be more to follow.
** NEW POLL: UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN. A new Gallup Poll survey has some more good news on the economy. Unemployment has been going down in the last few weeks.
Underemployment is also down sharply.
This, coupled with the Europeans averting a massive financial crisis and word that the US economy grew at a better than anemic 2.5% in the quarter just past, may begin to dissipate the gathering gloom.
However, we are very far from recovering lost ground. And wealth and income inequality has grown dramatically.
Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, was 8.3% for the 30 days ending Oct. 23 — down sharply from 9.0% for the 30 days ending Sept. 4. Over the same period last year, Gallup’s U.S. unemployment rate was steady or increasing, suggesting the lower unemployment Gallup has measured in recent weeks is not fully the result of seasonal hiring patterns. As a result, the government next week is likely to report a seasonally adjusted October unemployment rate of less than 9.0%. …
Gallup also finds a decline in the percentage of part-time workers who want full-time work, to 9.2% in the 30 days ending Oct. 23 from 9.6% for the period ending Sept. 4. …
Underemployment, a measure that combines the percentage of workers who are unemployed with the percentage working part time but wanting full-time work, stands at 17.5% in the 30 days ending Oct. 23, down sharply from 18.6% for the 30 days ending Sept. 4 and the 18.2% of the comparable week a year ago. Underemployment based on 30-day rolling averages remains at its lowest measurement of the year over each of the past two weeks.
>>>>>>LIVE VIDEO NETCAST
At 9:30 AM Pacific, White House press secretary Jay Carney delivers a briefing in the James S. Brady Briefing Room. The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
** LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
With massive geopolitical events swirling and the 2012 presidential race unfolding, the White House is increasingly a pivot point for the day’s events. Live streaming of key presidential events is now available as a matter of course here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
NWN will continue to present other live netcasts in full streaming mode, as it did with the Ronald Reagan Centennial events from the Reagan Library, as they emerge and are technically available and as significance dictates.
European Union leaders agreed on a Eurozone rescue plan after marathon talks lasting deep into the night.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama received the daily intelligence and economic briefing in the Oval Office.
He then met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in the Oval Office.
At 8 AM Pacific, Obama began meeting with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 9:30 AM Pacific, White House press secretary Jay Carney holds a briefing in the James S. Brady Briefing Room.
The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes.
At 12:10 PM Pacific, Obama holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Petr Necas of the Czech Republic in the Oval Office.
At 2:05 PM Pacific, Obama greets city and municipal leaders from across the country in the East Room.
At 3:45 PM Pacific, Obama has dinner with winners of a campaign contest in a Washington restaurant.
Obama has gotten some very good news today.
The US GDP rose 2.5% in the last quarter, the biggest increase in over a year.
And leaders of the European Union have reached agreement on a Eurozone stabilization plan.
The combination of the two means that the dreaded double-dip recession has been avoided.
Cue sigh of relief.
There are two basic steps involved in the European plan. First, the banks have been persuaded to take a very big haircut on their Greek loans, some 50%, which they believe will stave off a Greek default. Second, the Eurozone bailout fund, needed to stop other countries such as Italy and Spain from following Greece, is being increased to $1.4 trillion.
More steps are needed, but is reassuring markets, at least today, that the precipitous slide has been arrested.
In other action, the UN Security Council this morning terminated its mandate for the operation in Libya, as of the end of this month.
The vote was unanimous, despite a request from the new Libyan government for extension of the mission while it assessed the situation.
A relatively moderate Islamist party finished a clear first in Sunday’s vote in Tunisia, where the Arab awakening began. The once banned Ennahda party is gaining a strong plurality, with more than 40% of the seats in parliament. It will seek to form a coalition government, probably with two left-wing secular parties.
Intriguingly, what was thought to be the main rival party to the Islamists slumped in the actual vote after leveling many attacks. The anti-Islamist campaign backfired, even among voters who weren’t going Islamist.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
Some protesters tore down fencing around their former encampment, which had needed substantial cleaning, outside Oakland City Hall last night.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Sacramento.
At 11 AM, he unveils his updated public pension reform proposals in a Capitol press conference.
At 12 noon, state Department of Finance Director Ana Matosantos and Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary Marty Morgenstern hold a media conference call.
It includes a higher retirement age and lower benefits for new state workers, who would have to accept a hybrid retirement plan including a 401-K component. It would end “air time,” a practice by which state workers are able to purchase retirement benefits at what amounts to a discount. And it would require a public vote altering the constitution to allow public members of state pension fund boards.
Of course, it may do more than that.
Will public employee unions, busily lobbying that all is essentially well, go along?
Will this quell growing concern about the system?
Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, things appear to have calmed down in Oakland after a wild Tuesday night in the downtown area with Occupy Wall Street protesters evicted from their encampment near City Hall. A 24-year old Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War is in critical condition after being hit in the head by what looks to have been a police projectile.
I’m not there and haven’t looked into this extensively, but it may well be that a combination of some very provocative protesters and some over-reacting police contributed to the problem.
The California Supreme Court yesterday rejected Republican challenges to the Citizens Redistricting Commission’s new congressional and state senate districts, both on 7-0 votes. There’s only one Democrat on the Court. But Republican leaders say they will continue trying to mount a referendum campaign. The money, $1 million to a party which has otherwise raised very little, is coming from Mercury Insurance chief George Joseph.
** STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted again at last week’s memorial service, Steve Jobs liked to say that he modeled his business after the Beatles. So it was interesting to have been around when the Beatles broke up, i.e., when Jobs was fired in the ’80s from the company he so famously co-founded and led.
With memorials past and present and a new biography just out, Jobs is more omnipresent now than when he was among us. Perhaps that’s only fitting. While he was an imperfect person, he may be a perfect icon.
When I encountered him in the early ’80s, although it was not immediately apparent, Steve Jobs was coming to the end of his fabulous first act in life. The spectacular introduction of the Macintosh in January 1984, which proved to be as big a game changer as he and others thought at the time — just not immediately and not immediately for Apple — was followed in 1985 by the sensational ouster of Jobs.
Always a disruptive force, a key to creativity, Jobs had become, in the regretful view of many who counted, a destructive force.
Jobs was only 30 when he was fired as head of the Macintosh Division and then forced out of Apple. His brilliance had spurred game-changing developments, but had run up against the limits of his expertise. And “I don’t know” isn’t something that’s easy for a famous visionary folk hero to say.
“The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.”
When William Gibson first started saying that, in the ’90s, I flashed back to that day in January 1984 when I was fortunate enough to be on hand for the unveiling of the Macintosh. It was Apple’s annual meeting, held at the Flint Center in Cupertino. I was there at the invitation of Regis McKenna, Jobs and Apple’s longtime public relations and marketing counsel, with whom I later worked as Jobs had his breach with Apple. (Among many other things, McKenna’s eponymous firm created the Apple logo, and masterminded the Mac launch with Jobs.) … From my October 26th essay.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections. … From my October 20th essay.
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $59 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $21 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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 former board member of Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble pleaded not guilty today to federal charges accusing him of acting as “the illegal eyes and ears in the boardroom” for a billionaire hedge fund operator.
** QUICK HITS.Things appear to have calmed down today in Oakland after a wild night in the downtown area with Occupy Wall Street protesters evicted from their encampment near City Hall. A 24-year old Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War is in critical condition after being hit in the head by what may have been a police projectile. But more clashes are expected. … The California Supreme Court today rejected Republican challenges to the Citizens Redistricting Commission’s new congressional and state senate districts, both on 7-0 votes. There’s only one Democrat on the Court. But Republican leaders say they will continue trying to mount a referendum campaign. … The money, $1 million to a party which has otherwise raised very little, is coming from Mercury Insurance chief George Joseph. … A day before he unveils an updated version of his public pension reform proposals, Governor Jerry Brown appointed a replacement for cousin Hal Brown, who is stepping down from the Marin County Board of Supervisors to battle cancer. Catherine Rice, longtime aide to Supervisor Brown, will be sworn in this weekend. Brown appointed his cousin to the board as he left office the first time in 1983, and Hal Brown has routinely won election ever since.
** STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.As Apple CEO Tim Cook noted again at last week’s memorial service, Steve Jobs liked to say that he modeled his business after the Beatles. So it was interesting to have been around when the Beatles broke up, i.e., when Jobs was fired in the ’80s from the company he so famously co-founded and led.
With memorials past and present and a new biography just out, Jobs is more omnipresent now than when he was among us. Perhaps that’s only fitting. While he was an imperfect person, he may be a perfect icon.
When I encountered him in the early ’80s, although it was not immediately apparent, Steve Jobs was coming to the end of his fabulous first act in life. The spectacular introduction of the Macintosh in January 1984, which proved to be as big a game changer as he and others thought at the time — just not immediately and not immediately for Apple — was followed in 1985 by the sensational ouster of Jobs.
Always a disruptive force, a key to creativity, Jobs had become, in the regretful view of many who counted, a destructive force.
Jobs was only 30 when he was fired as head of the Macintosh Division and then forced out of Apple. His brilliance had spurred game-changing developments, but had run up against the limits of his expertise. And “I don’t know” isn’t something that’s easy for a famous visionary folk hero to say.
“The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.”
When William Gibson first started saying that, in the ’90s, I flashed back to that day in January 1984 when I was fortunate enough to be on hand for the unveiling of the Macintosh. It was Apple’s annual meeting, held at the Flint Center in Cupertino. I was there at the invitation of Regis McKenna, Jobs and Apple’s longtime public relations and marketing counsel, with whom I later worked as Jobs had his breach with Apple. (Among many other things, McKenna’s eponymous firm created the Apple logo, and masterminded the Mac launch with Jobs.) …
Speaking in Denver, President Barack Obama announced new actions to lower student loan payments Wednesday. The initiative accelerates an income-based repayment plan that reduces the maximum required payment on student loans to 10% of annual income.
** NEW POLL: RECORD LOW SUPPORT FOR HANDGUN BAN, DECLINING BACKING FOR GUN CONTROL IN GENERAL. Are people “clinging to their guns” in hard times, to borrow a line from a certain 2008 candidate for the presidency?
Or has a growing consensus simply rejected the idea that objects are inherently evil?
Support for the banning of handguns, the core position of many gun control advocates, and one that has been adopted in several cities, is now at the lowest level in Gallup’s measurement of the question.
In fact, support for a handgun ban is less than half what it was at the end of the conservative 1950s.
Opposition to the ban on assault rifles is now a majority position, too.
The collapse in support for stricter gun controls appears to be across the board.
A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years. …
The results are based on Gallup’s annual Crime poll, conducted Oct. 6-9. This year’s poll finds support for a variety of gun-control measures at historical lows, including the ban on handguns, which is Gallup’s longest continuing gun-control trend.
For the first time, Gallup finds greater opposition to than support for a ban on semiautomatic guns or assault rifles, 53% to 43%. In the initial asking of this question in 1996, the numbers were nearly reversed, with 57% for and 42% against an assault rifle ban. Congress passed such a ban in 1994, but the law expired when Congress did not act to renew it in 2004. Around the time the law expired, Americans were about evenly divided in their views. …
All key subgroups show less support for stricter gun laws, and for a ban on handguns, than they did 20 years ago. In 1991, 68% of Americans favored stricter gun laws and 43% favored a ban on handguns. Those percentages are 43% and 26%, respectively, today.
Democrats, Eastern residents, members of gun non-owning households, and women were among the few subgroups to favor a ban on handguns in 1991, but now no key subgroup has a majority in favor. …
Americans have shifted to a more pro-gun view on gun laws, particularly in recent years, with record-low support for a ban on handguns, an assault rifle ban, and stricter gun laws in general. This is the case even as high-profile incidents of gun violence continue in the United States, such as the January shootings at a meeting for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona.
Perhaps the trends are a reflection of the American public’s acceptance of guns. In 2008, Gallup found widespread agreement with the idea that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to own guns. Americans may also be moving toward more libertarian views in some areas, one example of which is greater support for legalizing marijuana use.
>>>>>>LIVE VIDEO NETCAST
At 9:45 AM Pacific, President Barack Obama speaks on the affordability of college at the University of Colorado’s campus in Denver. The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
** LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
With massive geopolitical events swirling and the 2012 presidential race unfolding, the White House is increasingly a pivot point for the day’s events. Live streaming of key presidential events is now available as a matter of course here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
NWN will continue to present other live netcasts in full streaming mode, as it did with the Ronald Reagan Centennial events from the Reagan Library, as they emerge and are technically available and as significance dictates.
Libya is now in the midst of a complex and challenging transition.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Colorado and Washington.
At 9:45 AM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks on college affordability at the University of Colorado – Denver Downtown Campus.
The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes.
At 10:45 AM Pacific, Obama departs Denver on Air Force One en route Joint Base Andrews.
At 1:55 PM Pacific, Obama arrives at Joint Base Andrews, where he boards Marine One.
At 2:10 PM Pacific, Obama lands on the South Lawn of the White House.
Now that Moammar Gaddafi is dead and disposed of and the fighting has stopped, NATO will decide today when to wrap up its mission in Libya.
The end of October may see the end of the most active portions of the mission, which probably culminated in the airstrike last Friday morning that prevented a fleeing Gaddafi convoy from breaking out of Sirte.
Libya’s new leaders finally buried deposed dictator Moammar Gaddafi yesterday, in an unmarked desert grave to avoid it becoming any sort of shrine. Gaddafi’s notably decaying and stinking corpse was finally removed from public viewing in Misurata, which suffered for months under bombardment by Gaddafi regime forces.
The new Libyan government says it will investigate Gaddafi’s death.
A relatively moderate Islamist party has finished a clear first in Sunday’s vote in Tunisia, where the Arab awakening began. The once banned Ennahda party is gaining a strong plurality, with more than 40% of the seats in parliament. It will seek to form a coalition government, probably with two left-wing secular parties.
Negotiations over the Eurozone financial crisis hit a major snag yesterday, as a meeting of European Union finance ministers set for Wednesday has suddenly been called off. Another gathering of European heads of government is still on for this week.
Obama is monitoring a variety of geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has hit Oakland, with police criticized for their tactics.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
Brown sent a letter late yesterday to the co-chairs of the state legislature’s joint committee on public employee pensions, saying he will release on Thursday an updated version of his plans.
As I indicated today in our conversations, I very much look forward to working with you and the other members of the Conference Committee in taking the necessary steps to improve our retirement systems. On Thursday, you will receive my updated pension reform proposals for review at your next hearing.
Given the paramount importance of pensions to both taxpayers and public employees, it is absolutely critical that we carefully examine our current assumptions and practices. We have to do our best to make sure that we have a system that is fair and truly sustainable over the long time horizon that our pension and health systems require.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections. … From my October 20th essay.
** AFGHAN WAR AT 10, 9/11 AT 10+: DID OSAMA BIN WIN AFTER ALL?It’s 10 years since our Afghan War began, and ten-plus years since 9/11.
Most Americans, according to two new polls, don’t think we should be doing what we’re doing in Afghanistan, or that the war effort has been worth it. Every week, there are major fiascoes in Afghanistan. But Osama bin Laden has found his eternal rest far beneath the surface of the Arabian Sea, courtesy of the U.S. Navy SEALs. So bin Laden still lost, right?
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $91 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $57 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $23 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
More details are emerging on today’s secret burial, and Friday’s shady death, of Moammar Gaddafi.
** QUICK HITS. President Barack Obama taped his appearance this morning on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and had a strictly softball time of it. He said he won’t really pay attention to his would-be Republican opponents until “everybody is voted off the island.” … Now that Gaddafi is dead and disposed of and the fighting has stopped, NATO will decide tomorrow when to wrap up its mission in Libya. The end of October may see the end of the most active portions of the mission, which probably culminated in the airstrike last Friday morning that prevented a fleeing Gaddafi convoy from breaking out of Sirte.
** NEW POLL: THE CAIN MUTINY. For a flavor of the week, or month, whatever the saying is as applied to him, Herman Cain is showing some real staying power. Despite not having much in the way of a, you know, campaign.
He leads in most of the national polls for the Republican presidential nomination and is holding up in the midst of rocketing to much greater public recognition.
In fact, according to a new Gallup Poll, his name ID among Republican voters has gone up by more than 50% since last month!
As he gains in recognition, he gains in support. And his support is holding up, better than Rick Perry’s has. Though Perry has ample room for a comeback as this bizarre race continues to unfold.
What’s clear is that Mitt Romney, whom many keep trying to anoint as an inevitable frontrunner, has about one-fifth to one-fourth of the primary electorate. This despite vast name ID and familiarity from his having been running for president since 2006.
What you want in a real frontrunner, especially one in the Republican tradition of “being the next man,” is someone with a third to 40% and more of the primary vote. Romney clearly doesn’t have that, despite the problems of his challengers.
Clearly, while he is not disliked by most Republican voters, most of the party wants to nominate someone who is not Mitt Romney.
Herman Cain is now recognized by 78% of Republicans nationwide, marking a gain of 28 percentage points since September and 57 points since March. This is the largest gain in recognition for any GOP presidential candidate Gallup has tracked this year, and puts him roughly on par with the other major candidates. …
Regardless of whether Cain ends up winning the Republican presidential nomination, he has accomplished the remarkable feat of moving from being relatively unknown among members of his own party nationwide to being recognized by almost 8 in 10.
Republicans have been relatively enthusiastic in their evaluations of Cain all year, and his Positive Intensity Scores for five weeks straight have topped the list. Cain’s score is down to 30 this week from 34 last week, but it remains more than twice as high as that of any other Republican tested. …
Mitt Romney’s positioning among Republicans remains fairly stable. His Positive Intensity Score of 13 is broadly similar to what it has been all year. Romney is generally well-liked by Republicans — his 66% total favorable rating is second only to Cain’s. But Romney still does not receive strongly favorable opinions from large numbers of Republicans.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann have suffered the biggest drops in positive intensity of any candidates Gallup tracks. Perry’s current Positive Intensity Score is 5, down from 25 in late August and early September. Similarly, Bachmann’s current Positive Intensity Score is 3, down from 24 in June.
On the other hand, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has made a comeback of sorts. He began the year with Positive Intensity Scores as high as 19, which plummeted to a low of 1 in July after reports about problems in his campaign. Now, Gingrich is back to 12, essentially tying Mitt Romney for second place behind Cain — perhaps the result of Gingrich’s strong performance in recent debates.
** NEW POLL: FRESH GREEN SHOOTS IN THE ECONOMY? A new Gallup Poll survey indicates that some recent signs of economic hope may be a pattern.
Economic confidence is on an uptick again, after collapsing in July in the midst of the ruinously preposterous debate over the federal debt ceiling and deficit.
Now if only the Eurozone doesn’t collapse, dragging the rest of the global economy back down with it …
Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index rose to -46 last week, just above the -47 to -52 range seen since early September. More generally, Americans’ confidence in the economy has been slightly better in September and October than in August after tumbling in July.
Americans’ confidence in the economy continues to track well below the levels seen during the same weeks in 2010. However, at -46, the current level is about midway between the record lows Gallup recorded during the U.S. financial crisis in late 2008/early 2009 and the modest recovery seen from about May 2009 through May 2011. …
The Gallup Economic Confidence Index has shown some weekly variations in September and October, but at a consistently improved level over August. That trend was punctuated with a -46 reading in the past week, the most positive since late July. Still, the fundamental message from economic confidence data continues to be that consumers are weighed down by doubts about current economic conditions and the pace of recovery. While consumers are not nearly as positive (relatively speaking) as they were in the spring, they are perhaps recovering from the deep pessimism that set in two months ago.
The remains of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi have been buried in a secret location deep in the Sahara desert, according to the country’s new administration.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in California and Colorado.
At 10:30 AM Pacific, Obama sits for an interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at NBC Studios – Burbank.
At 11:40 AM Pacific, Obama departs Los Angeles on Air Force One en route San Francisco.
At 12:45 PM Pacific, Obama arrives in San Francisco.
At 2:10 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a fundraiser at the W Hotel in San Francisco.
At 3:10 PM Pacific, Obama departs San Francisco on Air Force One en route Denver, Colorado.
At 5:15 PM Pacific, Obama arrives in Denver.
At 6:35 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a fundraiser at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
At 7:35 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at another fundraiser at the Pepsi Center.
Libya’s new leaders finally buried deposed dictator Moammar Gaddafi today, in an unmarked desert grave to avoid it becoming any sort of shrine. Gaddafi’s notably decaying and stinking corpse was finally removed from public viewing in Misurata, which suffered for months under bombardment by Gaddafi regime forces.
After an international outcry, the new Libyan government says it will investigate Gaddafi’s death.
A relatively moderate Islamist party has finished a clear first in Sunday’s vote in Tunisia, where the Arab awakening began. The once banned Ennahda party is gaining a strong plurality, with reportedly more than 40% of the seats in parliament, and will seek to form a coalition government.
The election Sunday was the first democratic test of the Arab awakening, which to date has toppled longtime autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
Negotiations over the Eurozone financial crisis hit a major snag today, as a meeting of European Union finance ministers set for Wednesday has suddenly been called off. Another gathering of European heads of government is still on for this week.
A major stumbling block? A request for banks to agree to write off more than half the value of their holdings of Greek debt.
Obama is monitoring a variety of geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told his Japanese counterpart today that the US is “here to stay” in the Pacific. The veteran California political figure, now touring Asia, says there has been progress on both sides in reducing US troop numbers in Okinawa, a thorny political issue in Japan.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California and Los Angeles.
At 5 PM, will speak at the Annenberg Foundation’s 3rd Annual Alchemy Peer to Peer event featuring the Social Innovation Fast Pitch Competition. The event is at LA Live’s Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles.
More than $100,000 in funding will be awarded to Los Angeles-area non-profits.
Meanwhile, the California Republican Party has given another $300,000 to the referendum drive to suspend the Citizen Redistricting Commission’s new state Senate districts. But where is the money really coming from? The state party has no money.
This is one of several efforts to use the referendum to block recently enactments, all used by very conservative forces in the state. Most have collapsed or will collapse due to lack of any funding for signature drives.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections. … From my October 20th essay.
** AFGHAN WAR AT 10, 9/11 AT 10+: DID OSAMA BIN WIN AFTER ALL?It’s 10 years since our Afghan War began, and ten-plus years since 9/11.
Most Americans, according to two new polls, don’t think we should be doing what we’re doing in Afghanistan, or that the war effort has been worth it. Every week, there are major fiascoes in Afghanistan. But Osama bin Laden has found his eternal rest far beneath the surface of the Arabian Sea, courtesy of the U.S. Navy SEALs. So bin Laden still lost, right?
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $59 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $21 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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 announced new steps for some mortgage relief today in Las Vegas, where home values have fallen by more than 50% over the past five years.
** QUICK HITS.Libya’s new leaders say they will bury deposed dictator Moammar Gaddafi tomorrow in an unmarked desert grave to avoid his grave becoming any sort of shrine. Gaddafi’s notably decaying and stinking corpse is finally being removed from public viewing in Misurata, which suffered for months under bombardment by Gaddafi regime forces. … The BBC is just reporting that a relatively moderate Islamist party has finished a clear first in Sunday’s vote in Tunisia, where the Arab awakening began. The once banned Ennahda party is gaining a strong plurality and will seek to form a coalition government. … President Barack Obama pulled 300 contributors to a fundraiser today at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, paying between $1000 and $35,800 per person. Obama also pipped Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for last week blocking what he called a “bail-out” in the form of funding for teachers and public safety employees. … The California Republican Party has given another $300,000 to the referendum drive to suspend the Citizen Redistricting Commission’s new state Senate districts. But where is the money really coming from? The state party has no money.
** NEW POLL: DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN VOTERS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED ON HOW TO CREATE JOBS. Democrats and Republicans alike say they want to create more jobs. But party members differ dramatically on how to do that.
Democrats want to invest in infrastructure. Republicans want to cut taxes again and reduce regulations.
Both say they want to stop moving manufacturing jobs overseas. But neither group is clear on how to go about that.
Ironically, stopping the outsourcing/off-shoring of manufacturing probably entails more regulation, not less, despite the fact that it is apparently the top Republican priority on job creation.
The top recommendation among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents is keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S., followed by less government involvement and lower taxes. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents’ top recommendation is spending more on infrastructure jobs, and then keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
Republicans and Democrats in roughly equal numbers mention doing more to help small businesses, raising taxes on imports, improving education, and hiring Americans rather than illegal immigrants as ways to create more jobs. …
Americans’ most frequently offered recommendation on how to create more jobs — as it has been each of the three times Gallup has asked this question — is to focus on keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S. rather than exporting them overseas.
Americans also prioritize creating more infrastructure work, reducing government involvement in the business world (including less regulation), lowering taxes, helping small businesses, and putting higher taxes on imported goods. Over the last two years, Americans have become somewhat more likely to mention reduced government regulation in response to the “create more jobs” question, and slightly less likely to mention helping small businesses. …
>>>>>>LIVE VIDEO NETCAST
At 2:30 PM Pacific, President Barack Obama speaks about the economy in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
** LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
With massive geopolitical events swirling and the 2012 presidential race unfolding, the White House is increasingly a pivot point for the day’s events. Live streaming of key presidential events is now available as a matter of course here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
NWN will continue to present other live netcasts in full streaming mode, as it did with the Ronald Reagan Centennial events from the Reagan Library, as they emerge and are technically available and as significance dictates.
The Libyan rebel leadership declared the liberation of their nation yesterday in a celebration in Benghazi.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
Another big week in presidential politics on tap, and a week of intrigue in California politics, as we await the possible unveiling of potential statewide initiatives.
Obama is back on the road Monday for another three-day swing, this time in the West. He will hit Nevada (a key swing state, with a big Vegas fundraiser), California (his top finance state, where he will have fundraisers in Los Angeles and San Francisco and also appear on The Tonight Show), and Colorado (another key swing state, with a big Denver fundraiser).
The Republican presidential candidates are sliding toward the flat tax, and its siren song ever attractive to conservatives. But even Jerry Brown in his 1992 presidential campaign found it difficult to advocate without appearing to advantage the affluent.
In today’s Republican Party, that’s not a huge concern, with former frontrunner Rick Perry — now bringing on some new high-powered advisors and about to launch a TV blitz — coming out for it, sometime frontrunner Mitt Romney making approving noises, and new frontrunner Herman Cain already there.
Meanwhile, Nevada Republicans have backed off on their bid to move the Silver State’s presidential caucuses to January 14th, instead choosing February 4th in order to stave off a New Hampshire-instigated boycott of the contest. Florida violated party rules to move its primary to January 31st, prompting moves by Nevada and South Carolina, designated by the party to go third and fourth after Iowa and New Hampshire.
But cranky New Hampshire officials, insistent that no other contest could be within a week of their pristine primary, scuttled the Nevada move. So here’s the likely early calendar: Iowa on January 3rd, New Hampshire on January 10th, South Carolina on January 21st, Florida on January 31st, and Nevada February 4th. Florida will be penalized in delegates, but has plenty to lose in order to gain early positioning advantage.
Libyan rebels yesterday formally declared the liberation of their country after a lengthy uprising against dictator Moammar Gaddafi. But the accomplishment is soured by the treatment of Gaddafi following his capture on Friday.
It’s increasingly obvious, as it really was very early on as discussed here on Friday, that Gaddafi was murdered. His body was then displayed until today in a meat locker in Misurata, a grisly sort of exercise showing that vengeance turns out to be a more powerful motive than following Islamic teachings.
The UN wants an investigation into Gaddafi’s killing, which itself may constitute a war crime, and today the new Libyan government said it would comply. Gaddafi was wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, and the interim Libyan government had agreed at various points to make him available for trial. Though in now familiar fashion, at various points they said the exact opposite.
Turkey is continuing its major military incursion into northern Iraq, pursuing Kurdish separatist guerrillas who killed some 26 Turkish troops during cross-border raids during the week. The Turks say they have killed over 100 Iraq-based Kurdish fighters.
Iraqi security forces are notably absent from the scene inside their own country. The Turkish offensive inside Iraq is ongoing, with no set end date.
Meanwhile, Turkey was hit yesterday by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which has killed hundreds of people.
Tunisia, the place where the Arab spring began in January, held elections on Sunday to select a permanent government replacing that of ousted former President Ben Ali.
The turnout was reportedly very high, upwards of 90%. Official returns won’t be out until Tuesday, but the leading party, though short of a majority, is thought to be a moderate Islamist party banned under the old regime.
European Union leaders meeting over the weekend in Brussels, struggling to prop up the Eurozone amidst months of in-fighting between Germany and France, don’t seem to have come up with much. But they’ll keep trying this week.
In Afghanistan, the ever helpful President Hamid Karzai said that if there were war between the US and Pakistan, he would side with Pakistan.
Karzai, who was installed as Afghanistan’s president by the Bush/Cheney Administration after playing only a minor role in the fight to overthrow the Taliban after 9/11, went to India recently to sign a security treaty that upset Pakistan.
Obama is getting hit by many Republicans, including John McCain, who must know better, for not leaving a substantial military force in Iraq after the end of the year. And this is being dutifully reported by much of the media. All this requires a serious reality check. There is a status of forces agreement between the US and Iraq. It’s running out. If Iraq wanted to allow US troops there, it would grant immunity from potential prosecution, as currently exists. The parliament (heavily influenced by Iran, which was formerly held in check in the region by Saddam Hussein) refuses to do that. Because, wait for it, they don’t want US troops there.
The killing of Moammar Gaddafi is proving highly controversial, with widespread doubt about the official story(ies). These Libyan fighters say the man in this video shot the deposed dictator in the head with the pistol shown here.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made it clear over the weekend that US troops are leaving by the end of the year despite attempts to gain basing rights beyond the current status of forces agreement. The stumbling block, he said in pointed comments designed to underscore his nationalist credentials, was the US demand for immunity from prosecution or civil action for all US troops, something the Iraqi parliament simply would no longer allow.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Sultan, next in line for the throne, died early over the weekend at New York City’s Presbyterian Hospital. Sultan served as the kingdom’s defense minister since 1962, overseeing its big military build-up fueled by vast new oil wealth. His son, Prince Bandar, was the longtime Saudi ambassador to the US, becoming close to the Bush family and to top politicians of both parties.
Since King Abdullah is 87 years old and has undergone back surgery three times in recent years, the question of succession is critically important. Abdullah can choose his successor, as Saudi Arabia is anything but a democracy, except, in some instances, at the top. Elite royal opinion is important and observers say that court intrigue abounds. Especially since there is something called the Allegiance Council to confer on the selection.
Abdullah is widely thought likely to select Prince Nayef, a relative youth of 77, who has served as Saudi interior minister since 1970. Nayef is, if anything, more conservative than Abdullah and Sultan.
He is against elections and against allowing women to drive. But he has gained some favor in the West with ruthless crackdowns against jihadists in the kingdom, which some think has merely had the affect of dispersing jihadism on an international scale.
Here’s what Obama’s week looks like.
On Monday, Obama will travel to Las Vegas to make remarks on the American Jobs Act and take part in a campaign event. In the evening, Obama will participate in campaign events in Los Angeles and spend the night there.
On Tuesday morning, Obama will tape an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno before departing for San Francisco. In San Francisco, Obama will participate in a campaign event. In the afternoon, he will travel to Denver and participate in campaign events. He will spend the night in Denver.
On Wednesday morning, Obama will deliver remarks on the American Jobs Act in Denver before returning to Washington.
On Thursday, Obama will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Petr Necas of the Czech Republic. And on Friday, Obama will attend meetings at the White House.
As is the usual practice, Obama is keeping his schedule more flexible toward the end of the week in order to deal with any emerging events.
U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford has been called back to Washington after threats against him. Ford has become a lightning rod in Syria as the Assad regime continues its bloody crackdown against protesters.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington, Nevada, and California.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
Obama then departed on Air Force One, bound for Las Vegas, Nevada.
At 12 noon Pacific, Obama lands in Las Vegas.
At 1:05 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a fundraiser at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
At 2:10 PM Pacific, Obama meets with homeowners at a private residence in Las Vegas.
At 2:30 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a private residence in Las Vegas.
The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes.
Obama is expected to announce new federal housing rules designed to help homeowners with underwater mortgages and prod new lending.
Last week in Las Vegas, Mitt Romney said that the homeowners should be allowed to sink.
At 3:40 PM Pacific, Obama departs Las Vegas on Air Force One en route Los Angeles.
At 4:45 PM Pacific, Obama lands in Los Angeles.
At 6:15 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a fundraiser at a private residence in Los Angeles.
At 8:45 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a fundraiser in Los Angeles.
Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith, who host the first event at their home, Eva Longoria, and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are among the prime movers behind tonight’s Obama fundraisers.
Obama is monitoring a variety of geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections. … From my October 20th essay.
** AFGHAN WAR AT 10, 9/11 AT 10+: DID OSAMA BIN WIN AFTER ALL?It’s 10 years since our Afghan War began, and ten-plus years since 9/11.
Most Americans, according to two new polls, don’t think we should be doing what we’re doing in Afghanistan, or that the war effort has been worth it. Every week, there are major fiascoes in Afghanistan. But Osama bin Laden has found his eternal rest far beneath the surface of the Arabian Sea, courtesy of the U.S. Navy SEALs. So bin Laden still lost, right?
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $56 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $24 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Free and fair voting is taking place today, for the first time, in Tunisia, where the Arab awakening began early this year. It’s the first democratic test in a nation which deposed a longtime autocrat.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … STEVE JOBS: HARDLY A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
He has no scheduled public events today.
Obama is back on the road Monday for another three-day swing, this time in the West. Obama will hit Nevada (a key swing state), California (perhaps his top finance state, where he will have fundraisers in Los Angeles and San Francisco and also appear on The Tonight Show), and Colorado (another key swing state.
Libyan rebels today formally declared the liberation of their country after a lengthy uprising against dictator Moammar Gaddafi. But the accomplishment is soured by the treatment of Gaddafi following his capture on Friday.
It’s increasingly obvious, as it really was very early on as discussed here, that Gaddafi was murdered. His body has since been on display in Misurata, a grisly sort of exercise showing that vengeance turns out to be a more powerful motive than following Islamic teachings.
Turkey is continuing its major military incursion into northern Iraq, pursuing Kurdish separatist guerrillas who killed some 26 Turkish troops during cross-border raids during the week. The Turks say they have killed over 100 Iraq-based Kurdish fighters.
Iraqi security forces are notably absent from the scene inside their own country. The Turkish offensive inside Iraq is ongoing, with no set end date.
Meanwhile, Turkey was hit today by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which may have killed hundreds of people.
Tunisia, the place where the Arab spring began in January, is holding elections today to select a permanent government replacing that of ousted former President Ben Ali. An Islamist party thought to be relatively moderate is expected to do very well.
The turnout is reportedly very high.
European Union finance ministers meeting this weekend in Brussels, struggling to prop up the Eurozone amidst months of in-fighting between Germany and France, don’t seem to have come up with much.
In Afghanistan, the ever helpful President Hamid Karzai said that if there were war between the US and Pakistan, he would side with Pakistan.
Karzai, who was installed as Afghanistan’s president by the Bush/Cheney Administration after playing only a minor role in the fight to overthrow the Taliban after 9/11, went to India recently to sign a security treaty that upset Pakistan. I’ve never been a big Karzai fan.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES – SUNDAY. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama argues that the death of deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi and Obama’s own announcement that all US troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year are signs of America’s renewed global leadership.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
He has no scheduled public events today or on the weekend.
Obama is back on the road next week for another three-day swing, this time in the West. Obama will hit Nevada (a key swing state), California (perhaps his top finance state, where he will also appear on The Tonight Show), and Colorado (another key swing state.
Obama is getting hit by many Republicans, including John McCain, who must know better, for not leaving a substantial military force in Iraq after the end of the year. And this is being dutifully reported by much of the media. Er, folks, reality check. There is a status of forces agreement between the US and Iraq. It’s running out. If Iraq wanted to allow US troops there, it would grant immunity from potential prosecution, as currently exists. The parliament (heavily influenced by Iran, formerly held in check by Saddam Hussein) refuses to do that. Because, wait for it, they don’t want US troops there.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Sultan, next in line for the throne, died early this morning in New York City, at Presbyterian Hospital. Sultan served as the kingdom’s defense minister since 1962, overseeing its big military build-up fueled by vast new oil wealth. His son, Prince Bandar, was the longtime Saudi ambassador to the US, becoming close to the Bush family and to top politicians of both parties.
Since King Abdullah is 87 years old and has undergone back surgery three times in recent years, the question of succession is critically important. Abdullah can choose his successor, as Saudi Arabia is anything but a democracy, except, in some instances, at the top. Elite royal opinion is important and observers say that court intrigue abounds. Especially since there is something called the Allegiance Council to confer on the selection.
Abdullah is widely thought likely to select Prince Nayef, a relative youth of 77, who has served as Saudi interior minister since 1970. Nayef is, if anything, more conservative than Abdullah and Sultan.
He is against elections and against allowing women to drive. But he has gained some favor in the West with ruthless crackdowns against jihadists in the kingdom, which some think has merely had the affect of dispersing jihadism on an international scale.
The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud, died early on Saturday of colon cancer in New York City. The death of the 85-year-old prince, who served as Saudi defense minister since 1962, opens up the succession to 87-year old King Abdullah, who was recuperating in Morocco following back surgery in New York when the Arab spring began.
In Iraq today, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made it clear that US troops are leaving by the end of the year despite attempts to gain basing rights beyond the current status of forces agreement. The stumbling block, he said in pointed comments today designed to underscore his nationalist credentials, was the US demand for immunity from prosecution or civil action for all US troops, something the Iraqi parliament simply would no longer allow.
Turkey is continuing its major military incursion into northern Iraq, pursuing Kurdish separatist guerrillas who killed some 26 Turkish troops during cross-border raids during the week.
In Libya, deposed dictator Moammar Gaddafi’s body is on display in Misurata, the city long besieged by late Gaddafi regime forces. Also on display is the body of his former national security advisor and son, and the body of his former defense defense minister.
The UN wants an investigation into Gaddafi’s killing, which itself may constitute a war crime. Gaddafi was wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, and the interim Libyan government had agreed at various points to make him available for trial. Though in classic Libyan fashion, at various points they said the exact opposite.
Tunisia, the place where the Arab spring began in January, is holding elections this weekend to select a permanent government replacing that of ousted former President Ben Ali. It will be very interesting to see how the once banned Islamists do.
European Union finance ministers are meeting this weekend in Brussels, struggling to prop up the Eurozone amidst months of in-fighting between Germany and France. Greece, beset by strikes, continues to teeter in the wake of the adoption of new austerity measures.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Pakistan wrapped up a two-day trip to Islamabad today, after trying to get Pakistani leaders to move against the Taliban and to improve cooperation with the US following the breach in relations after the Osama bin Laden raid.
Clinton was accompanied by new CIA Director David Petraeus and General Martin Dempsey, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It’s not clear yet what if anything was decided.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said today that American troops are leaving because Iraqi leaders refused to grant US forces immunity from prosecution or lawsuits.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES – SATURDAY. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
Brown got some somewhat promising economic news yesterday.
In fact, California has added a quarter-million jobs in the past 12 months, most in the nation, a growth rate of 1.8%, which is well above the average for states.
Meanwhile, Brown’s realignment proposal moves forward. The state prisons system issues lay-off warning notices to over 20,000 people as downsizing begins and many prisoners shift to the local level.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections.
The central disappointment, of course, is that Brown got only half his grand compromise to solve California’s chronic state budget crisis. He got big cuts through early on, but couldn’t get four Republican legislators to go along with even allowing the public to vote on tax extensions. From then on, Brown dealt with a dysfunctional legislature, which did little on the state’s slow-to-recover economy, focusing in many instances on far less relevant bills. …
When Brown, whom I’ve known for decades, finished going through hundreds of bills on other matters earlier this month, his decisions caused a degree of consternation, feigned or otherwise, among observers used to knee-jerk orthodoxies of left and right. Brown was said to be inscrutable. Which was strictly non-serious.
As I put it on my New West Notes blog, “Jerry is a mystery for people who aren’t into mysteries.”
Two days later, Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton — who not only covered Brown during his first go-round as governor but also covered his dad — chimed in, saying: “Jerry Brown is not a mystery. He’s a moderate.”
Well, in a way. But not really. Brown is more a pragmatic iconoclast who wants California as much on the edge of futuristic change as possible. He wants a healthy public sector but not an ever-expanding public sector. He wants strong labor protections without labor running the show. He wants a dynamic and innovative entrepreneurial sector while reining in capitalism’s excesses. He wants strong environmental protections — and especially a new energy economy based on renewables and efficiency — without choking off business. He’s a hopeful skeptic.
** AFGHAN WAR AT 10, 9/11 AT 10+: DID OSAMA BIN WIN AFTER ALL?It’s 10 years since our Afghan War began, and ten-plus years since 9/11.
Most Americans, according to two new polls, don’t think we should be doing what we’re doing in Afghanistan, or that the war effort has been worth it. Every week, there are major fiascoes in Afghanistan. But Osama bin Laden has found his eternal rest far beneath the surface of the Arabian Sea, courtesy of the U.S. Navy SEALs. So bin Laden still lost, right?
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 $87.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
This is up about $53 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $27 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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 unscheduled appearance this morning in the White House Briefing Room, President Barack Obama announced what amounts to a full conclusion of the Iraq War, with a complete pull-out of US troops by the end of the year.
** QUICK HITS. President Barack Obama is back on the road next week for another three-day swing, this time in the West. Obama will hit Nevada (a key swing state), California (perhaps his top finance state, where he will also appear on The Tonight Show), and Colorado (another key swing state. … Obama is getting hit by many Republicans, including John McCain, who must know better, for not leaving a substantial military force in Iraq after the end of the year. And this is being dutifully reported by much of the media. Er, folks, reality check. There is a status of forces agreement between the US and Iraq. It’s running out. If Iraq wanted to allow US troops there, it would grant immunity from potential prosecution, as currently exists. The parliament (heavily influenced by Iran, formerly held in check by Saddam Hussein) refuses to do that. Because, wait for it, they don’t want US troops there. … In California, the state prisons system is issuing lay-off warning notices to over 20,000 people as downsizing begins and many prisoners shift to the local level.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … STEVE JOBS: NOT A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.
** MAKING A VIRTUE OF NECESSITY, OBAMA ANNOUNCES END TO IRAQ WAR. Making an unscheduled appearance this morning at White House press secretary Jay Carneys regular media briefing, President Barack Obama announced that all US troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by December 31st, 2011.
This was not the actual plan.
AS NWN readers know, the administration has been talking with the Iraqi government for months about a residual force remaining in Iraq, both to continue training of the Iraqi military and security and police forces, and to provide a rapid response capability if things get out of hand.
But the talks have been going nowhere.
The number of troops under discussion varied.
At the end, as few as 3000 troops were discussed. But even that was too many for the restive Iraqi parliament, which refused to provide any immunity from prosecution for US soldiers.
The anti-American forces, which are frequently pro-Iranian, are too strong within the Maliki government. And so the great adventure in Iraq, hatched in the ’90s in Washington neoconservative think tanks long before 9/11, is coming to an end.
Iran has been empowered and emboldened, and already has great sway inside Iraq.
Turkey is in the midst of a major military operation inside Iraq right now, as I’ve been discussing here for the past few days.
Some US troops will be moved to Kuwait, where they can form a rapid reaction force. But it’s unclear now how many that might be. And it’s very unclear if they would be welcomed back inside Iraq, no matter how chaotic things might become.
** NEW POLL: CHINESE MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN AMERICANS ABOUT JOB MARKET. A new Gallup Poll survey finds that most Chinese and most Americans are pessimistic about their respective employment markets. But Chinese are less so.
The standard of living in America remains higher. But Chinese optimism is based on major economic growth while America’s economy virtually collapsed and then has struggled to recover.
Majorities of Chinese and Americans in 2011 agree now is a bad time to find a job in the city or area where they live — but Americans are more negative. Seventy-two percent of Americans say it is a bad time to find a job, compared with 56% of Chinese. …
The findings are based on Gallup’s global surveys conducted in each country each year since 2007. In 2011, Chinese are more likely (33%) than they have ever been to say it is a good time to find a job, though their views have been fairly consistent. Americans’ outlooks have changed more dramatically. The 26% who say now is a good time to find a job locally is up from 14% in 2009, but this is still half of the 50% who shared this opinion in 2007. …
Chinese are also more positive about the general economic conditions where they live. Eighty percent of Chinese say the economic conditions in communities are getting better, while 5% say they are getting worse. This compares with the 48% of Americans who say their local economic conditions are getting better, while 43% say they are getting worse. Here again, Chinese attitudes have been fairly steady, while Americans’ have been more volatile.
>>>>>>LIVE VIDEO NETCAST
At 9:30 AM Pacific, White House press secretary Jay Carney delivers a briefing. At 11:30 AM Pacific, President Barack Obama honors recipients of the 2010 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Both events will be netcast live here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
OBAMA SCHEDULE UPDATE: President Barack Obama himself will appear in the briefing room at 9:30 AM to discuss Iraq.
** LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
With massive geopolitical events swirling and the 2012 presidential race unfolding, the White House is increasingly a pivot point for the day’s events. Live streaming of key presidential events is now available as a matter of course here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
NWN will continue to present other live netcasts in full streaming mode, as it did with the Ronald Reagan Centennial events from the Reagan Library, as they emerge and are technically available and as significance dictates.
This video appears to show some of the chaotic circumstances surrounding the capture of Moammar Gaddafi, not long before he was killed.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
He then signed the Korea, Panama, Colombia Free Trade Agreements and the renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance Act for workers, also in the Oval Office.
Following that, Obama dropped by a reception in the Rose Garden.
At 9:30 AM Pacific, White House press secretary Jay Carney delivers a briefing in the James S. Brady Briefing Room.
At 11:30 AM Pacific, Obama honors recipients of the 2010 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation in the East Room.
Obama received a setback last night when the Senate defeated, on a 50 to 50 vote, a $35 billion portion of his American Jobs Act to pay teachers and first responders. Three Democrats split away to join Republicans in sustaining a hypothetical filibuster.
How exactly did Moammar Gaddafi die? It’s not clear. I saw footage of him early on Thursday in which the captured dictator looked battered but hardly terminal. Not long after, he was dead. How did it happen? Gaddafi was “caught in a cross-fire,” a Libyan rebel spokesman told Al Jazeera.
As I wrote yesterday morning, Gaddafi had been holed up in the last stand quadrant of resistance inside the city which has been besieged by Libyan rebels for weeks. On Thursday morning he and some close associates decided to make a run for it. Their convoy of vehicles was hit by a NATO air strike.
The air strike, though devastating to the convoy, did not kill the colonel who seized power 42 years ago. He was found hiding in a storm drain by Libyan rebel fighters.
Gaddafi was captured … and then things get things get very confusing. The various official stories don’t gibe.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into the death of Gaddafi, who was wanted on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
What appears to have happened is that Gaddafi had fallen into the hands of rebel fighters from Misurata, the city long besieged by Gaddafi regime forces, rocketed and shelled incessantly, with international aid ships driven from its port.
Let’s say that they were not inclined to be merciful.
Turkish troops are today continuing a major ground offensive into northern Iraq after attacks from Kurdish separatists based there killed at least 26 Turkish soldiers, the worst loss of life by Turkish forces in decades.
This of course is a major blow to Iraqi sovereignty, but there is little that the Iraqi government — which has failed to reign in Kurdish guerrillas based there — can do about it.
Turkish troops are in at least regimental strength and have heavy air cover. They seem in no hurry to depart Iraqi soil.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Pakistan today and tomorrow, trying to get Pakistani leaders to move against the Taliban.
A NATO air strike derailed Moammar Gaddafi’s plans to escape from his home town.
Clinton is accompanied by new CIA Director David Petraeus and General Martin Dempsey, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
News Corp is holding its annual meeting today at Fox Studios in Los Angeles with many shareholders pushing against continued Murdoch family domination of the firm.
The UK phone hacking scandal is not going away and has every indication of continuing to implicate News Corp higher-ups, including Rupert Murdoch’s son and longtime heir apparent, James Murdoch. But Murdoch opponents aren’t able to push the family out of corporate control, at least in the near term, as they and their allies control too many of the voting shares.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
Brown announced yesterday that the sale of $1.8 billion in bonds, much of it infrastructure projects from the Schwarzenegger Administration, will act as a “homegrown economic stimulus.”
For his part, Schwarzenegger, now filming The Last Stand in New Mexico, hailed the California Air Resources Board’s adoption of the final version of the cap and trade rules for the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction program.
“As I said both when we signed the legislation in 2006, and when we fought to protect it last year when Texas oil companies attempted to overturn it with Proposition 23, the most critical phase in the fight against climate change is diligently, aggressively, and correctly implementing this law. I have always believed that we can create a world where economic growth, energy independence, and environmental protection are all achieved.”
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections.
The central disappointment, of course, is that Brown got only half his grand compromise to solve California’s chronic state budget crisis. He got big cuts through early on, but couldn’t get four Republican legislators to go along with even allowing the public to vote on tax extensions. From then on, Brown dealt with a dysfunctional legislature, which did little on the state’s slow-to-recover economy, focusing in many instances on far less relevant bills. …
When Brown, whom I’ve known for decades, finished going through hundreds of bills on other matters earlier this month, his decisions caused a degree of consternation, feigned or otherwise, among observers used to knee-jerk orthodoxies of left and right. Brown was said to be inscrutable. Which was strictly non-serious.
As I put it on my New West Notes blog, “Jerry is a mystery for people who aren’t into mysteries.”
Two days later, Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton — who not only covered Brown during his first go-round as governor but also covered his dad — chimed in, saying: “Jerry Brown is not a mystery. He’s a moderate.”
Well, in a way. But not really. Brown is more a pragmatic iconoclast who wants California as much on the edge of futuristic change as possible. He wants a healthy public sector but not an ever-expanding public sector. He wants strong labor protections without labor running the show. He wants a dynamic and innovative entrepreneurial sector while reining in capitalism’s excesses. He wants strong environmental protections — and especially a new energy economy based on renewables and efficiency — without choking off business. He’s a hopeful skeptic.
** AFGHAN WAR AT 10, 9/11 AT 10+: DID OSAMA BIN WIN AFTER ALL?It’s 10 years since our Afghan War began, and ten-plus years since 9/11.
Most Americans, according to two new polls, don’t think we should be doing what we’re doing in Afghanistan, or that the war effort has been worth it. Every week, there are major fiascoes in Afghanistan. But Osama bin Laden has found his eternal rest far beneath the surface of the Arabian Sea, courtesy of the U.S. Navy SEALs. So bin Laden still lost, right?
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $88 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $54 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $26 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Reaction is pouring in from around the world to the death of Moammar Gaddafi.
** QUICK HITS.How exactly did Moammar Gaddafi die? It’s not clear. I saw footage of him earlier today in which the captured dictator looked battered but hardly terminal. Not long after, he was dead. How did it happen? Gaddafi was “caught in a cross-fire,” a Libyan rebel spokesman told Al Jazeera. … Governor Jerry Brown announced today that the sale of $1.8 billion in bonds, much of it infrastructure projects from the Schwarzenegger Administration, will act as a “homegrown economic stimulus.” … For his part, Schwarzenegger, now filming The Last Stand in New Mexico, hailed the California Air Resources Board’s adoption of the final version of the cap and trade rules for the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction program. “As I said both when we signed the legislation in 2006, and when we fought to protect it last year when Texas oil companies attempted to overturn it with Proposition 23, the most critical phase in the fight against climate change is diligently, aggressively, and correctly implementing this law. I have always believed that we can create a world where economic growth, energy independence, and environmental protection are all achieved.”
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … STEVE JOBS: NOT A PERFECT PERSON, PERHAPS A PERFECT ICON.
** SIGNS: JERRY BROWN AFTER A DISAPPOINTING LEGISLATIVE YEAR.After a rather disappointing legislative year, Governor Jerry Brown is looking ahead to 2012. Brown and his appointees are digging into future economic and energy policy, the prospects for major water and high-speed rail projects, the possibility of mid-course cuts in the current state budget, and the 2012 elections.
The central disappointment, of course, is that Brown got only half his grand compromise to solve California’s chronic state budget crisis. He got big cuts through early on, but couldn’t get four Republican legislators to go along with even allowing the public to vote on tax extensions. From then on, Brown dealt with a dysfunctional legislature, which did little on the state’s slow-to-recover economy, focusing in many instances on far less relevant bills. …
When Brown, whom I’ve known for decades, finished going through hundreds of bills on other matters earlier this month, his decisions caused a degree of consternation, feigned or otherwise, among observers used to knee-jerk orthodoxies of left and right. Brown was said to be inscrutable. Which was strictly non-serious.
As I put it on my New West Notes blog, “Jerry is a mystery for people who aren’t into mysteries.”
Two days later, Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton — who not only covered Brown during his first go-round as governor but also covered his dad — chimed in, saying: “Jerry Brown is not a mystery. He’s a moderate.”
Well, in a way. But not really. Brown is more a pragmatic iconoclast who wants California as much on the edge of futuristic change as possible. He wants a healthy public sector but not an ever-expanding public sector. He wants strong labor protections without labor running the show. He wants a dynamic and innovative entrepreneurial sector while reining in capitalism’s excesses. He wants strong environmental protections — and especially a new energy economy based on renewables and efficiency — without choking off business. He’s a hopeful skeptic.
Not that he’s doing much to provide a narrative for what he’s about. …
Appearing in the White House Rose Garden, President Barack Obama discussed the death today of deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi.
** NEW POLL: CHRISTMAS SPENDING FORECAST AT SAME LEVEL AS LAST YEAR. While there are some signs of improvement in the employment picture, a new Gallup Poll survey indicates that holiday spending will be at the same levels this year as last.
That’s better than the situation at the depths of the recession, but not a sign that consumers are getting off the fence to drive recovery. Of course, investors haven’t done that, either. As people hold back, stasis continues.
But respondents may simply be conservative in their estimation of relative spending, as they apparently have been historically.
Americans forecast they will spend $712 on Christmas gifts this year, nearly identical to the $715 they estimated they would spend on Christmas at this time last year. …
More specifically, about one-quarter of Americans plan to spend at least $1,000 on gifts, another quarter say they will spend between $500 and $999, and about one-third will spend between $100 and $499. Very few plan to spend less than $100 while 14% are unsure. …
As can be seen in Gallup’s full trend for the comparative spending question (see pdf at the end of this report), Americans almost always answer this question conservatively. The only exceptions have come in particularly robust economic years (such as 1998 through 2000), when the “spend more” and “spend less” percentages were about equal. In most measures, historically, the majority of Americans have said they will spend about the same on gifts as they did the year before.
U.S. holiday retail spending rebounded somewhat in 2010 after three years of highly anemic sales. Thus, if consumers’ 2011 Christmas spending intentions remain at 2010 levels, 2011 holiday retail spending could be flat, although at a modestly improved level over 2008 to 2009.
Consumer spending showed significant year-to-year growth in June and July, according to government retail sales data. However, Americans’ economic confidence has since slumped to nearly match the extreme lows seen after the Wall Street financial crisis in 2008. Whether that will translate into restrained holiday spending remains to be seen, but Gallup Daily tracking already detects some belt-tightening in Americans’ routine discretionary spending. Gallup will measure Americans’ Christmas spending intentions again in November.
>>>>>>LIVE VIDEO NETCAST
At 11 AM Pacific, President Barack Obama delivers remarks in the Rose Garden on the death of deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi. At 11:20 AM Pacific, White House press secretary Jay Carney delivers a briefing. Both events will be netcast live here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
** LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
With massive geopolitical events swirling and the 2012 presidential race unfolding, the White House is increasingly a pivot point for the day’s events. Live streaming of key presidential events is now available as a matter of course here on New West Notes. You can mute the audio by clicking on the pause button.
NWN will continue to present other live netcasts in full streaming mode, as it did with the Ronald Reagan Centennial events from the Reagan Library, as they emerge and are technically available and as significance dictates.
Deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi was killed this morning while trying to escape from his home town of Sirte.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington.
Obama has received the daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
UPDATE: At 11 AM Pacific in the Rose Garden, Obama will deliver remarks on the death of Moammar Gaddafi.
The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes.
At 9:30 AM Pacific, White House press secretary Jay Carney delivers a briefing in the James S. Brady Briefing Room.
The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes.
UPDATE: Carney’s media briefing has been rescheduled to 11:20 AM Pacific.
At 11 AM Pacific, Obama welcomes the 13 recipients of the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal to a ceremony in the East Room.
Obama will likely comment on the death of Moammar Gaddafi.
The event will be netcast live here on New West Notes.
At 1:10 PM Pacific, Obama holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway in the Oval Office.
Deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi was killed today in Sirte, his home town.
Gaddafi had been holed up in the last stand quadrant of resistance inside the city which has been besieged by Libyan rebels for weeks. This morning he and some close associates decided to make a run for it. Their convoy of vehicles was hit by a NATO air strike.
The air strike reportedly did not kill the colonel who seized power 42 years ago. He was found hiding in a storm drain by Libyan rebel fighters.
Gaddafi died in an ambulance on the way to Misurata, victim of several gunshot wounds as you can see in the video above.
Gaddafi’s death marks the end of any serious potential resistance from his remaining loyalists.
This is all a tremendous vindication of the Obama Administration’s strategy on Libya. US intervention proved to be utterly crucial, but did not turn into a US operation.
The entire military operation has cost the US less than $2 billion. There were no American casualties, either killed or wounded.
Contrast that to Iraq.
Turkish troops today launched a major ground offensive into northern Iraq after attacks from Kurdish separatists based there killed at least 26 Turkish soldiers, the worst loss of life by Turkish forces in decades.
This of course is a major blow to Iraqi sovereignty, but there is little that the Iraqi government — which has failed to reign in Kurdish guerrillas based there — can do about it.
Once US forces withdraw, we can expect even greater Iranian involvement throughout the country — the parliament is already tilted toward Iran, and has denied US troops any future ability to avoid trial in Iraqi courts — and Turkish involvement in northern Iraq to quell Kurdish separatist activity.
As Turks denounce the killings of dozens of their soldiers by Kurdish separatist guerrillas based inside Iraq, the Turkish Army has launched a large-scale ground offensive into northern Iraq.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Afghanistan today, trying to get Afghan leaders to renew peace contacts with the Taliban. These ended after last month’s dramatic assassination of the former Afghan president in charge of the peace process.
The Obama strategy in Afghanistan was, in my term for it, escalate to negotiate. The escalation happened, but the negotiation has languished as the Taliban found they could withstand the military pressure from the US and its allies and thoroughly disrupt the nascent Afghan government.
As it teeters on the brink of financial collapse, Greece is in the second day of a growing general strike against austerity policies demanded for bailout.
While the Eurozone is in crisis, Obama received some good economic news here at home, with unemployment claims at their lowest level since April.
Obama is monitoring a variety of other geopolitical crises, mostly related to the Arab awakening, AfPak, and Iraq.
War Zone Times: Libya is nine hours ahead of Pacific time, Iraq is ten hours ahead of Pacific time, and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He has no scheduled public events as of this morning.
The California Air Resources Board meets today and is expected to approve a cap and trade system on greenhouse gas emissions pushed by Brown’s predecessor, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
** AFGHAN WAR AT 10, 9/11 AT 10+: DID OSAMA BIN WIN AFTER ALL?It’s 10 years since our Afghan War began, and ten-plus years since 9/11.
Most Americans, according to two new polls, don’t think we should be doing what we’re doing in Afghanistan, or that the war effort has been worth it. Every week, there are major fiascoes in Afghanistan. But Osama bin Laden has found his eternal rest far beneath the surface of the Arabian Sea, courtesy of the U.S. Navy SEALs. So bin Laden still lost, right?
** CALIFORNIA’S WILD RIDE: OF ARNOLD, JERRY, AND VANITIES FAIR (AND OTHERWISE).It’s nine months since Jerry Brown’s inauguration as governor. After a big early flurry of activity around big state budget cuts, Brown has proceeded more slowly, his new/renewed tenure as California’s second three-term governor beset by the same forces of dysfunctionality that marked the governorship of predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger. … From my October 4th essay.
** 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, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** PAN AMERICAN GAMES LIVE. The Pan American Games, bringing together athletes from 41 nations across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean contesting in 36 sports, have their opening ceremony tonight in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams run until October 30th.
You can watch the action on ESPN Deportes.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in three wars in the region, and the Arab awakening underway, 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.
** 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.
** 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 trading around $85 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $51 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity, and down $29 from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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