The fighting in Syria shows signs of spreading. Tensions remain high in Beirut where protesters have been fighting the police following the funeral of Lebanon’s spy chief General Wissam al-Hassan. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office, demanding that he resign. The protesters are accusing Mikati, who has been close to the Assad regime of Syria, of being involved in the assassination of al-Hasan.
** NEW COLUMNS COMING UP … RECALLING GEORGE MCGOVERN’S LAST CAMPAIGN, THE LAST DANCE DEBATE, and BOND AT 50: A NOTABLE PREMIERE HARKENS BACK TO BOND’S BEGINNINGS.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Maryland.
Obama is continuing prep for Monday night’s third and final presidential debate, this time on geopolitics and foreign policy.
He has no scheduled public events.
Nor does conservative Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who is also in heavy prep on topics which have repeatedly confounded him.
On Tuesday after the debate, Obama campaigns in Florida and Ohio. Then he blitzes through Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada on Wednesday. On Thursday, he hits Florida again and Virginia and — after stopping in Chicago to become the first president to vote early in person — Obama hits Ohio again in the evening.
Former Senator George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee who led opposition to the Vietnam War, died early this morning at age 90 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. More to follow.
Obama, of course, has some tricky currents to manage on the Benghazi disaster, as I have been pointing out since the assassination of Ambassador Chris Stevens and the attending murders of three other Americans by jihadists on the 11th anniversary of 9/11.
The Obama Administration made several mistakes on security calls in Libya and on the characterization of events in the disaster’s aftermath. Some of it seeming to stem from CIA assessments at the time.
Not that Republicans have smooth sailing here, either, having backed major cuts to diplomatic security, a notable part of Congressman Paul Ryan’s touted budget plan.
Then there is the fact that House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa’s document dump appears to have torched confidential Libyan allies of the US.
Perhaps the California congressman can compare notes with Julian Assange.
Obama is also dealing with the Syrian crisis, which has now spread to Lebanon. See the news video above.
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.
Governor Jerry Brown, in quip-meister mode, explains his mobile phone’s ring tone at a rally on Saturday. Sounds a bit like early Outer Limits to me.
** FROM THE JERRY FILES – SUNDAY. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
He speaks today at several African American churches in the San Francisco Bay Area.
On Saturday, noting as I have the preposterousness of its statements about many millions in mystery money that is funneling into the No on 30 and Yes on 32 campaigns — all under the rubric of its faux “small business” label — Brown declared that the Small Business Action Committee is “laundering” money into state campaigns and called on the Fair Political Practices Commission to act.
Brown knows more than a fair amount about this, since the FPPC came into being as a result of his Political Reform Act.
“It’s complete money laundering,” he said. “Money laundering is when you take something that you’re ashamed of or you want to hide, and you put some Clorox on it, or you scrub it, or you wash it, and it comes out looking like something else. And this looks like some leadership committee going to some small-business committee. In truth, they’re neither leaders nor are they small business. It’s major financial interests and powerful, powerful corporations and personalities that have the ability to move $11 million at will.”
Brown made these comments after a rally in San Francisco. He then headed to Berkeley for the Big Game, the annual Cal-Stanford football game, played a month earlier than usual. He rooted for his alma mater, but nationally ranked Stanford won, 21-3.
One of Lebanon’s most senior security officials was, along with others, assassinated Friday in a car bombing in Beirut. Wissam al-Hassan played the lead role in uncovering a recent bomb plot that led to the arrest of Michel Samaha, a Lebanese politician close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been accused of trying to help smuggle explosives into Lebanon. The ISF was also deeply involved in seeking the arrest of those responsible for a host of attacks and assassinations between 2005 and 2008, starting with the murder of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, laid by many ultimately at the doorstep of the Assad regime.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … BOND AT 50: A NOTABLE PREMIERE HARKENS BACK TO BOND’S BEGINNINGS.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Maryland.
Obama is at the Camp David presidential retreat in the Maryland countryside, engaged in prep for Monday night’s debate on foreign policy and geopolitics at Lynn University in Florida.
He has no scheduled public events.
Obama’s schedule is the same for Sunday.
Conservative Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is also spending the weekend engaged in debate prep.
Vice President Joe Biden is campaigning in swing state Florida, where Romney now has a very slight lead.
Congressman Paul Ryan is campaigning in swing state Ohio, where Obama continues to have an edge.
Monday night’s focus on geopolitics and foreign policy should advantage Obama, as I wrote the other day. But Obama is going to have deal once again with the Benghazi disaster in next week’s debate on foreign policy and geopolitics. It’s still a significant problem for him. Because, although he personally described the attack as terrorism very early on, most of his administration did not, despite it being obvious that it was not some protest that somehow got out of hand. Nobody brings machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to a protest.
Yes, there were intelligence reports early on indicating that the attack grew out of a protest against the Innocence of Muslims video. But that always defied credulity, not least because the only other significant protest on that day was in Cairo, where the video had gotten ample publicity, unlike in Libya.
I think the reality is that too many people in the administration wanted to believe it was a protest gone very wrong, and preferred to ignore the fact that it took place on the anniversary of 9/11.
Here are the topics for the third debate, selected by moderator Bob Schieffer:
- America’s role in the world.
- The Afghanistan and Pakistan wars.
- “Red lines” and Israel and Iran.
- The “changing Middle East and the new face of terrorism.”
- The rise of China.
And here is what the week ahead looks like. The information today is sketchy, because many decisions are still being made based on campaign imperatives.
On Monday, Obama will travel to Boca Raton, Florida where he will participate in the third Presidential Debate at Lynn University. First Lady Michelle Obama will also attend. The Obamas will stay overnight in Boca Raton, Florida.
On Tuesday, Obama will travel to Delray, Florida and Dayton, Ohio for campaign events. Obama will return to the White House in the evening.
Details about the remainder of the week’s schedule will be, as the saying goes, released as they become available.
However, I understand that Obama will engage in a six-state blitz of swing states on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The assassination of a top Lebanese intelligence director in the middle of Beirut yesterday, which many blame on Syria, could be a major destabilizing event in the Middle East.
More to follow.
In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama says that the Republican Congress should add to growing momentum in the housing market by helping homeowners.
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 – SATURDAY. Governor Jerry Brown is in Northern California.
On Saturday, he will speak in San Francisco at a rally and news conference at a Service Employees International Union headquarters.
California Common Cause is demanding that the Fair Political Practices Commission investigate the true source of $11 million from an Arizona super PAC washed through the Small Business Action Committee into the No on 30 and Yes on 32 campaigns. (See below.) Just guessing that the money isn’t really from Arizona.
Brown demanded yesterday at an appearance in Los Angeles that “the shadowy interests” behind the money “take off the mask.”
** CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC: PASS THE BANANAS. … From my October 19th essay.
** OBAMA TAKES DEBATE 2: SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? … From my October 17th essay.
** GEOPOLITICS: OBAMA FACES BIG CHALLENGES DESPITE DEBATE WINNER ROMNEY’S LATEST POLICY WHIFF. … From my October 9th essay.
** JERRY BROWN GETS AN OCTOBER SURPRISE. … From my October 8th feature.
** RECALLING TOTAL RECALL: SCHWARZENEGGER’S COMEBACK PROCEEDS WITH A BIG (NATURALLY) BOOK. … From my October 5th essay.
** BOND AT 50: DR. NO IS A TIME CAPSULE FROM THE EARLY MAD MEN ERA. … From my October 4th essay.
** OBAMA PASSES THROUGH THE MINEFIELD OF U.N. WEEK (BUT SETS UP A POTENTIAL EXPLOSION NEXT YEAR). … From my September 28th essay.
** IS POST-PARTISANSHIP PASSE? SCHWARZENEGGER AND COMPANY (AND BILL CLINTON) SAY NO. … From my September 26th column.
** DETHRONED: MAD MEN‘S DOWN SEASON OPENED THE DOOR FOR A SUPERLATIVE HOMELAND. … From my September 24th column.
** JERRY BROWN: GEARING UP A CAMPAIGN AT LAST? … From my September 22nd feature.
** HOW ROMNEY SHOULD HAVE ATTACKED OBAMA: ANATOMY OF A GEOPOLITICAL CRISIS. … From my September 19th 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.
The 50th anniversary Bond film, Skyfall, already the recipient of very enthusiastic reviews from the British press and the Hollywood trades, has its world premiere Tuesday night in London.
** 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 closed on Friday at $90.05 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 about $24 per barrel from the price at the time of the Osama bin Laden raid.
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| Comments (30) |
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Lebanon-Syria crisis.
Good weekend speech by President Obama on the Republicans doing nothing to help the housing market for the middle class.
The Bond movie trailer is great. Can’t wait to see the movie.
Uh-oh…
Jonas says:
October 20, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Lebanon-Syria crisis.
Barack is on a good message, he is the only one to support the middle class, not Mittens the hyper richie rich.
Jonas says:
October 20, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Good weekend speech by President Obama on the Republicans doing nothing to help the housing market for the middle class.
Cool!!
Jonas says:
October 20, 2012 at 2:34 pm
The Bond movie trailer is great. Can’t wait to see the movie.
What crisis video today?
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Syria crisis spread to Lebanaon.
Funny video with Jerry Browns call from “outer space”.
Uh-oh…
Jonas says:
October 21, 2012 at 11:58 am
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Syria crisis spread to Lebanaon.
JB is too funny, what a crack up!!
Jonas says:
October 21, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Funny video with Jerry Browns call from “outer space”.
Great, that is what JB needs to hit on.
BB:On Saturday, noting as I have the preposterousness of its statements about many millions in mystery money that is funneling into the No on 30 and Yes on 32 campaigns — all under the rubric of its faux “small business” label — Brown declared that the Small Business Action Committee is “laundering” money into state campaigns and called on the Fair Political Practices Commission to act.
I wish it was a quiet weekend.
<<<<< Capitol Boy says:
October 21, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Uh-oh…
Jonas says:
October 21, 2012 at 11:58 am
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Syria crisis spread to Lebanaon.
It wasn’t a quiet weekend.
Obama should win the 3rd debate and the election.
Is there ever anything new on this site?
Thank you for the excellent article on the “Banana Republic” billionaires of politics in Califonria. This is an alarming development. You have explained it insightfully which you always do.
More crisis video today?
How weird…
jonas says:
October 22, 2012 at 6:18 am
Is there ever anything new on this site?
Indeed.
Yes, multiple.
> Jonas says:
October 22, 2012 at 10:14 am (Edit)
More crisis video today?
You’re very welcome.
> lorena says:
October 22, 2012 at 9:18 am (Edit)
Thank you for the excellent article on the “Banana Republic” billionaires of politics in Califonria. This is an alarming development. You have explained it insightfully which you always do.
Don’t waste my time with this nonsense.
> jonas says:
October 22, 2012 at 6:18 am (Edit)
Is there ever anything new on this site?
Sadly no, and probably.
> Cooper Hawks says:
October 22, 2012 at 1:38 am (Edit)
It wasn’t a quiet weekend.
Obama should win the 3rd debate and the election.
Among other things.
> Capitol Boy says:
October 21, 2012 at 2:44 pm (Edit)
Great, that is what JB needs to hit on.
BB:On Saturday, noting as I have the preposterousness of its statements about many millions in mystery money that is funneling into the No on 30 and Yes on 32 campaigns — all under the rubric of its faux “small business” label — Brown declared that the Small Business Action Committee is “laundering” money into state campaigns and called on the Fair Political Practices Commission to act.
I think that would be the pre-Pearl Harbor world, I’m afraid.
> Len says:
October 21, 2012 at 5:35 pm (Edit)
I wish it was a quiet weekend.
<<<<< Capitol Boy says:
October 21, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Uh-oh…
Jonas says:
October 21, 2012 at 11:58 am
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Syria crisis spread to Lebanaon.
He is a card.
> Capitol Boy says:
October 21, 2012 at 2:43 pm (Edit)
JB is too funny, what a crack up!!
Jonas says:
October 21, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Funny video with Jerry Browns call from “outer space”.
And now it is getting worse …
> Capitol Boy says:
October 21, 2012 at 2:41 pm (Edit)
Uh-oh…
Jonas says:
October 21, 2012 at 11:58 am
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Syria crisis spread to Lebanaon.
I think it’s going to be quite outstanding.
> Capitol Boy says:
October 20, 2012 at 4:03 pm (Edit)
Cool!!
Jonas says:
October 20, 2012 at 2:34 pm
The Bond movie trailer is great. Can’t wait to see the movie.
Indeed.
> Capitol Boy says:
October 20, 2012 at 3:57 pm (Edit)
Uh-oh…
Jonas says:
October 20, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Good bad news Al Jazeera news video on the Lebanon-Syria crisis.
Incidentally, NWN passed 125,000 comments sometime in the past several weeks.