Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu reportedly demanded and was denied a private meeting with President Barack Obama during the annual gathering of heads of government during the UN General Assembly meeting in two weeks in New York City. Netanyahu is said to be insisting on the US laying out a specific deadline for Iran to back away from its nuclear program.
** QUICK HITS. In a bizarre development, small but vociferous crowds of fundamentalist Islamic protesters semi-stormed the US embassy in Cairo and US consulates in Libya over a film being produced in the US, a film I’d never heard of before. One US diplomat was reportedly killed in Benghazi. This comes after secular moderates won the recent Libyan elections. … Speaking today to the National Guard Association in Reno, Nevada, Mitt Romney, who has sharply criticized President Barack Obama’s Afghan War policy, gave a remarkably vague address. I can’t tell you what his policy is. … Governor Jerry Brown signs public pension reform legislation Wednesday morning in Los Angeles. Brown is joined by state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez. Brown says the legislation doesn’t do as much as he wants, but it is estimated to save $50 to $70 billion.
** NEW COLUMNS COMING UP … WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SINCE 9/11? and CONSIDERING THE SEMI-BONDIAN DARK KNIGHT RISES (RISEN TO $1 BILLION).
** NEW SURVEY: KEY INDICATORS HAVE IMPROVED SINCE 2009. On the old stand-by question — are you better off today than you were four years ago? — a new Gallup Poll survey gives a thumbs up for President Barack Obama.
There’s been improvement on all the major measurements under Obama.
The tricky part for Obama, however, is that on some of the measurements, most of the improvement occurred during the first half of his term.
The best news for Obama is that the standard of living measurement has risen steadily and substantially.
Economic Confidence Index: -27 Now vs. -58 Then
Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index is higher now than it was when Obama took office, but the improvement is largely based on a quick recovery in 2009 from the near-record low of -58 in Obama’s first full month in office in February 2009. Since that time, economic confidence has been relatively stable, with a sharp dip in the late summer of 2011. …
Satisfaction With the Way Things Are Going in the U.S.: 25% Now vs. 15% Then
Satisfaction with the way things are going in the United States has varied significantly over Obama’s time in office so far and stood at 25% in late August. This is up from 15% in February 2009, which was slightly above this measure’s all-time low of 7% recorded in October 2008 and quite negative on an absolute basis. Satisfaction rose to as high as 36% in the months after Obama took office (in August 2009) before settling back down into a range between 19% and 26% for most of 2010 and early 2011. Then, satisfaction fell sharply in the summer of 2011, reaching 11% in August and September, before climbing back to 28% in July of this year, and 23% in early August. The 28% July reading was the highest satisfaction had been since late August/early September 2009. …
Standard of Living: 48% “Getting Better” Now vs. 35% Then
Nearly half of Americans (48%) in August said their standard of living is getting better, marking a significant improvement from 35% during Obama’s first full month in office, and near the high for his term reached earlier this year. The “getting better” number in February 2009 is the lowest reading of his administration. The highest is 52%, reached in January, April, and May of this year. …
Job Creation Index: +19 Now vs. -5 Then
Gallup’s Job Creation Index is one Gallup measure that has improved since Obama took office in a fairly straightforward, linear pattern, to +19 in August compared with -5 in February 2009. …
In remarks early this morning at the Pentagon Memorial, President Barack Obama said the US is safer on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Obama was joined by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. The veteran California political figure said that US forces remain resilient after more than a decade of war.
** NEW COLUMNS COMING UP … WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SINCE 9/11? and CONSIDERING THE SEMI-BONDIAN DARK KNIGHT RISES (RISEN TO $1 BILLION).
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and Maryland.
Obama received the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
At 5:45 AM Pacific, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama observed a moment of silence to mark the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, on the South Lawn of the White House.
The Obamas then went to the Pentagon Memorial, where they attended the September 11th Observance Ceremony.
Following that, they returned to the White House.
Obama then went to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
There he visited severely wounded veterans of the Iraq War, the Afghan War, and other post-9/11 military engagements.
At 1:40 PM Pacific, Obama departs Bethesda, Maryland on Marine One en route to the White House.
At 1:50 PM Pacific, Obama lands on the South Lawn of the White House.
At 2 PM Pacific, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in the Oval Office.
Both Obama and his conservative Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, are staying away from partisan politics on this 11th anniversary of Al Qaeda’s attacks on New York City and Washington.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Obama will campaign in swing states Nevada and Colorado.
As I discussed here last week, Romney didn’t get a bounce of any sort from his convention, but Obama has gotten a bounce from his.
He’s up by 4 to 6 points in most major polls, and has a significant edge in most swing states.
Obama is monitoring several geopolitical crises involving the Arab Awakening, Iran and Israel, Syria, Iraq, AfPak, and the South China Sea.
Military Crisis Zone Times: The Persian/Arabian Gulf is ten hours ahead of Pacific time and Afghanistan is eleven and a half hours ahead of Pacific time. The time in Manila, on the South China Sea, is fifteen hours ahead of Pacific time.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
Brown took part in the annual Bay Area Council conference, held this year at Oracle software headquarters in Redwood City, south of San Francisco.
Brown signed legislation promoting business and trade — including international trade and investment offices in China and elsewhere — made various appointment to his GO-BIZ team, and pushed for his Proposition 30 revenue initiative.
** PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE ELEPHANT: THE CONVENTIONS AND THE CLIMATE. Let’s see now. What has happened in the last two weeks?
Both major political parties held their quadrennial national conventions, each of which was disrupted by weather unanticipated by convention planners. Neither party emphasized climate change. Nor did the hordes of media types in attendance, who essentially ignored it in favor of the usual back-and-forth.
And, oh yes, the once deeply ice-capped Arctic Sea turned into a giant slushy at the top of the world.
At least President Barack Obama mentioned climate change as a serious issue.
Which is not to say that Mitt Romney didn’t mention it, too. As a joke.
While Romney was deriding Obama for his concern as a candidate in 2008 about the greenhouse effect — “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans,” he said, pausing for delegate laughter, “and to heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family” — National Geographic, reporting the Arctic Sea’s lowest level of ice coverage in history, was laying out the stark reality Romney worked to deny:
Researchers at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center said the rate of Arctic sea ice decline is now the highest that has ever been observed for the month of August. In August of this year, the sea ice disappeared at an average rate of about 39 square miles (a hundred square kilometers) per day–or about twice as fast as normal, NSIDC scientists say.
Moreover, the area of Arctic sea ice around the North Pole had shrunk to 1.58 million square miles (4.1 million square kilometers) — the smallest measurement since 1979, when satellite observations began.
By comparison, said NSIDC’s Julienne Stroeve, Arctic sea ice cover in the 1970s and ’80s at this time of year was typically in excess of 2.7 million square miles (7 million square kilometers).
Since Romney’s little joke at the Republican convention, which of course eliminated John McCain’s limited climate change program of just four years ago, the melting at the top of the world has continued.
This results in sharply decreased reflectivity on a big chunk of the planet, raising the absorption of solar radiation. That increases the Earth’s overall warming and will increase the ice melt.
This is likely to further destabilize weather patterns elsewhere around the planet.
The sharp decline of the Arctic ice cap can also melt much of the permafrost, which stores a lot of carbon, and expose deep stores of methane in the seabed.
As bad as the increasing melting of the Arctic is, it contains huge opportunity for international oil and natural gas developers, who are already moving to gain position for the Great Arctic Oil Rush. Russia, one of the world’s biggest oil powers, is naturally very well-positioned for this, but US-based oil companies are looking at getting in on the action, too.
Not that the political media is paying attention to this, studiedly distracted as it has been by conventioneering and the ephemera of one of the shallowest presidential campaigns in memory.
The lack of attention is quite ironic and telling, because it has a direct bearing on this presidential race. …
** WHILE ONE CLINTON WOWS AT THE OBAMARAMA, ANOTHER PIVOTS TO THE LONG GAME. … From my September 6th essay.
** SO WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED WITH CLINT EASTWOOD? (AND THE PERILS OF ARGUING WITH IMAGINARY OBAMAS). … From my September 4th essay.
** AFTER THE ROMNEYRAMA, AND MORE SERIOUS MATTERS. … From my August 30th essay.
** SPACE, JERRY BROWN’S PLACE, AND A RACE. … From my August 27th essay.
** AN INSULAR ROMNEY STRUGGLES WITH HIS SURPRISINGLY HEARTFELT VEEP PICK AFTER STRIKING OUT INTERNATIONALLY. … From my August 23rd essay.
** RECALLING TOTAL RECALL: INTRIGUE, ULTRA-VIOLENCE, HUMOR AND WHAT ELSE THAT IS MISSING FROM THE SCHWARZENEGGER REMAKES. … From my August 17th essay.
** LONDON’S GRAND OLYMPICS, ON AND OFF THE TRACK. … From my August 13th essay.
** FROM GOVERNATOR TO MOONBEAM. … From my January 3rd, 2011 feature.
A second moment of silence was observed at 9:03 Tuesday morning marking when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
** 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.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in major military operations 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. 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 from the Russia Today channel. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the state-run 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 $97 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
This is up about $63 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 about $17 per barrel from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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| Comments (37) |
Good news video of President Obama and Leon Panetta at the Pentagon Memorial.
Good video of the Ground Zero moment of silence.
Another excellent HuffPost feature.
I was shocked that climate change was not addressed to the extent it was not. It was not even addressed on the HuffPost. Strangeness…
Barack is so good at these solemn occasions.
Jonas says:
September 11, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Good news video of President Obama and Leon Panetta at the Pentagon Memorial.
These were too early…
Jonas says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Good video of the Ground Zero moment of silence.
Great article!! At least Barack mentioned it and is fighting for clean energy. Romney said it’s a ll a big joke…
** PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE ELEPHANT: THE CONVENTIONS AND THE CLIMATE.
This is really good news for Barack…
** NEW SURVEY: KEY INDICATORS HAVE IMPROVED SINCE 2009. On the old stand-by question — are you better off today than you were four years ago? — a new Gallup Poll survey gives a thumbs up for President Barack Obama.
I love it!!
BB:As I discussed here last week, Romney didn’t get a bounce of any sort from his convention, but Obama has gotten a bounce from his.
He’s up by 4 to 6 points in most major polls, and has a significant edge in most swing states.
Obama will win but being that close with Romney is still a damn embarassment.
Good article on the Big Amnesia on greenhouse gases…
Netanyahu is losing it on Iran and Obama, man.
HuffPo doesn’t get a lot of things…
Requiem says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Another excellent HuffPost feature.
I was shocked that climate change was not addressed to the extent it was not. It was not even addressed on the HuffPost. Strangeness…
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Israel- Iran crisis.
It’s our crazy country, Jack.
Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 4:06 pm
I love it!!
BB:As I discussed here last week, Romney didn’t get a bounce of any sort from his convention, but Obama has gotten a bounce from his.
He’s up by 4 to 6 points in most major polls, and has a significant edge in most swing states.
Jack Aubrey says:
September 11, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Obama will win but being that close with Romney is still a damn embarassment.
Good enough!!
** NEW SURVEY: KEY INDICATORS HAVE IMPROVED SINCE 2009. On the old stand-by question — are you better off today than you were four years ago? — a new Gallup Poll survey gives a thumbs up for President Barack Obama.
There’s been improvement on all the major measurements under Obama.
The tricky part for Obama, however, is that on some of the measurements, most of the improvement occurred during the first half of his term.
The best news for Obama is that the standard of living measurement has risen steadily and substantially.
What movie, I never heard of it??
** QUICK HITS. In a bizarre development, small but vociferous crowds of fundamentalist Islamic protesters semi-stormed the US embassy in Cairo and US consulates in Libya over a film being produced in the US, a film I’d never heard of before. One US diplomat was reportedly killed in Benghazi. This comes after secular moderates won the recent Libyan elections. …
MIttens is a big joke…
… Speaking today to the National Guard Association in Reno, Nevada, Mitt Romney, who has sharply criticized President Barack Obama’s Afghan War policy, gave a remarkably vague address. I can’t tell you what his policy is. …
JB is getting it done!!
… Governor Jerry Brown signs public pension reform legislation Wednesday morning in Los Angeles. Brown is joined by state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez. Brown says the legislation doesn’t do as much as he wants, but it is estimated to save $50 to $70 billion.
I’m feeling more confident justice will prevail with President Obama’s re-election. Enough of the people are on to Mitt Romney. His elitist and racist policies are catching up with him.
The moment is very moving. If only, if only, if only the USA had not reacted so blindly we would be loved by much more of the world.
Jonas says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Good video of the Ground Zero moment of silence.
There was a horrible attack last night in Libya that took the lives of our Ambassador and three other Americans.
Yes, a great tragedy and shock.
We had tremendous good will, which was squandered.
> marcos leon says:
September 11, 2012 at 7:39 pm (Edit)
The moment is very moving. If only, if only, if only the USA had not reacted so blindly we would be loved by much more of the world.
Jonas says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Good video of the Ground Zero moment of silence.
I expect Obama to win.
> marcos leon says:
September 11, 2012 at 7:35 pm (Edit)
I’m feeling more confident justice will prevail with President Obama’s re-election. Enough of the people are on to Mitt Romney. His elitist and racist policies are catching up with him.
They’ve made some real progress.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 6:15 pm (Edit)
JB is getting it done!!
… Governor Jerry Brown signs public pension reform legislation Wednesday morning in Los Angeles. Brown is joined by state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez. Brown says the legislation doesn’t do as much as he wants, but it is estimated to save $50 to $70 billion.
I’ll be glad when his campaign is done.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 6:14 pm (Edit)
MIttens is a big joke…
… Speaking today to the National Guard Association in Reno, Nevada, Mitt Romney, who has sharply criticized President Barack Obama’s Afghan War policy, gave a remarkably vague address. I can’t tell you what his policy is. …
It’s not even clear there is a real movie, even now.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 6:14 pm (Edit)
What movie, I never heard of it??
** QUICK HITS. In a bizarre development, small but vociferous crowds of fundamentalist Islamic protesters semi-stormed the US embassy in Cairo and US consulates in Libya over a film being produced in the US, a film I’d never heard of before. One US diplomat was reportedly killed in Benghazi. This comes after secular moderates won the recent Libyan elections. …
Perhaps …
> Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 6:13 pm (Edit)
Good enough!!
** NEW SURVEY: KEY INDICATORS HAVE IMPROVED SINCE 2009. On the old stand-by question — are you better off today than you were four years ago? — a new Gallup Poll survey gives a thumbs up for President Barack Obama.
There’s been improvement on all the major measurements under Obama.
The tricky part for Obama, however, is that on some of the measurements, most of the improvement occurred during the first half of his term.
The best news for Obama is that the standard of living measurement has risen steadily and substantially.
Well, it’s not set right in front.
> Jack Aubrey says:
September 11, 2012 at 5:14 pm (Edit)
HuffPo doesn’t get a lot of things…
Requiem says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Another excellent HuffPost feature.
I was shocked that climate change was not addressed to the extent it was not. It was not even addressed on the HuffPost. Strangeness…
He backtracked later.
> Jack Aubrey says:
September 11, 2012 at 5:12 pm (Edit)
Netanyahu is losing it on Iran and Obama, man.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
> Jack Aubrey says:
September 11, 2012 at 4:52 pm (Edit)
Good article on the Big Amnesia on greenhouse gases…
The right-wing base vote has gotten bigger.
> Jack Aubrey says:
September 11, 2012 at 4:28 pm (Edit)
Obama will win but being that close with Romney is still a damn embarassment.
Shocking, positively shocking.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 4:06 pm (Edit)
I love it!!
BB:As I discussed here last week, Romney didn’t get a bounce of any sort from his convention, but Obama has gotten a bounce from his.
He’s up by 4 to 6 points in most major polls, and has a significant edge in most swing states.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:58 pm (Edit)
Great article!! At least Barack mentioned it and is fighting for clean energy. Romney said it’s a ll a big joke…
** PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE ELEPHANT: THE CONVENTIONS AND THE CLIMATE.
He has the manner.
> Capitol Boy says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:42 pm (Edit)
Barack is so good at these solemn occasions.
Jonas says:
September 11, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Good news video of President Obama and Leon Panetta at the Pentagon Memorial.
Thanks.
Yes, that was striking. I have no explanation.
> Requiem says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:34 pm (Edit)
Another excellent HuffPost feature.
I was shocked that climate change was not addressed to the extent it was not. It was not even addressed on the HuffPost. Strangeness…
Yes, it was quite moving.
> Jonas says:
September 11, 2012 at 3:09 pm (Edit)
Good video of the Ground Zero moment of silence.