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.
California’s unemployment rate ticked down from 12.1% to 11.9%, with some 20,000 jobs added in the past month.
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.
Not that he’s doing much to provide a narrative for what he’s about. … 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?
Yes. And no. Mostly no. … From my October 7th essay.
** CALIFORNIA’S WILD RIDE: OF ARNOLD, JERRY, AND VANITIES FAIR (AND OTHERWISE). … From my October 4th essay.
** MAD MEN‘S FEAT. … From my September 28th essay.
** MEG WHITMAN TO RUN CALIFORNIA (ICON)! … From my September 22nd column.
** T2 AND ALIENS ANNIVERSARIES POINT UP THE PROBLEMS WITH TODAY’S ACTION MOVIES. … From my September 18th essay.
** FROM GOVERNATOR TO MOONBEAM. … From my January 3rd, 2011 feature.
** 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.
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| Comments (24) |
Good weekend address by President Obama.
Good news video on the Saudis.
The Iraq prime minister doesn’t sound real pro-American.
Barack has kept his promises and succeeded in getting rid of Gaddafi and getting out of Iraq.
Jonas Blane says:
October 22, 2011 at 11:31 am
Good weekend address by President Obama.
They are so conservative!!
Jonas Blane says:
October 22, 2011 at 11:42 am
Good news video on the Saudis.
Good reason even more for us to be out of there…
Jonas Blane says:
October 22, 2011 at 11:44 am
The Iraq prime minister doesn’t sound real pro-American.
The Libyans are behaving horribly with Gaddafi’s body. He is supposed to have been buried already. That is Muslim custom.
Your Afghanistan president is saying he would support Pakistan in war against USA.
Good news video of the Tunisia voting.
The people look very happy.
European Union government heads are not solving the financial crisis.
What new video today, Libya, Turkey, Iraq?
Some of the above …
Well, they’ve only been working on it all year …
>sergei says:
October 24, 2011 at 4:41 am (Edit)
European Union government heads are not solving the financial crisis.
They haven’t gotten bored with voting yet.
>Jonas Blane says:
October 23, 2011 at 11:38 am (Edit)
Good news video of the Tunisia voting.
Capitol Boy says:
October 23, 2011 at 1:03 pm (Edit)
The people look very happy.
Our Man in Havana.
>sergei says:
October 23, 2011 at 8:32 am (Edit)
Your Afghanistan president is saying he would support Pakistan in war against USA.
There is that.
>Requiem says:
October 22, 2011 at 2:27 pm (Edit)
The Libyans are behaving horribly with Gaddafi’s body. He is supposed to have been buried already. That is Muslim custom.
Indeed.
>Capitol Boy says:
October 22, 2011 at 12:29 pm (Edit)
Good reason even more for us to be out of there…
Jonas Blane says:
October 22, 2011 at 11:44 am
The Iraq prime minister doesn’t sound real pro-American.
They make the Tea Party look squishy.
>Capitol Boy says:
October 22, 2011 at 12:26 pm (Edit)
They are so conservative!!
Jonas Blane says:
October 22, 2011 at 11:42 am
Good news video on the Saudis.
He has indeed.
>Capitol Boy says:
October 22, 2011 at 12:23 pm (Edit)
Barack has kept his promises and succeeded in getting rid of Gaddafi and getting out of Iraq.
Jonas Blane says:
October 22, 2011 at 11:31 am
Good weekend address by President Obama.
Especially now.
>Jonas Blane says:
October 22, 2011 at 11:44 am (Edit)
The Iraq prime minister doesn’t sound real pro-American.
Thank God! Somenoe with brains speaks!
Didn’t know the forum rules alloewd such brilliant posts.
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