mercredi 31 août 2011
Tea party wants blacks 'hanging on a tree': Andre Carson (Politico)
Comme commentaire explosif... Carson est un représentant démocrate de l'Indiana, est noir et musulman (le second à siéger au Congrès américain.
"Carson also said the tea party is stopping change in Congress, likening it to “the effort that we’re seeing of Jim Crow.”
The explosive comments, caught on tape, were uploaded on the Internet Tuesday, and Carson’s office stood by the remarks. Jason Tomcsi, Carson’s spokesman, said the comment was “in response to frustration voiced by many in Miami and in his home district in Indianapolis regarding Congress’s inability to bolster the economy.” Tomcsi, in an email, wrote that “the congressman used strong language because the Tea Party agenda jeopardizes our most vulnerable and leaves them without the ability to improve their economic standing.
“The Tea Party is protecting its millionaire and oil company friends while gutting critical services that they know protect the livelihood of African-Americans, as well as Latinos and other disadvantaged minorities,” Tomcsi wrote. “We are talking about child nutrition, job creation, job training, housing assistance, and Head Start, and that is just the beginning. A child without basic nutrition, secure housing, and quality education has no real chance at a meaningful and productive life.”
Carson is hardly the first lawmaker to use heated rhetoric. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) yelled “you lie” as President Barack Obama was addressing Congress. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) yelled “baby killer” at former Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) as abortion was being discussed during the health care debate."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62396.html
Obama gagnera en 2012 (Allan Lichtman)
Allan Lichtman est ce célèbre professeur et auteur de The Keys to the White House qui a prédit correctement les résultats des élections présidentielles depuis Ronald Reagan en 1984. Selon sa "formule", Obama est certain de conserver son poste...
"Lichtman developed his 13 Keys in 1981. They test the performance of the party that holds the presidency. If six or more of the 13 keys go against the party in power, then the opposing party wins.“The keys have figured into popular politics a bit,” Lichtman says. “They’ve never missed. They’ve been right seven elections in a row. A number that goes way beyond statistical significance in a record no other system even comes close to.”
Lichtman’s earned quite the reputation. In 1992, it seemed likely former President George H.W. Bush would be re-elected, having reached historic highs in popularity after he launched a war that pushed Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. But Lichtman thought otherwise and that factored into former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton’s decision to challenge Bush.“I got a call from this woman with a thick southern drawl. It was Clinton’s special assistant. She wanted to know if it was true that a Democrat could win. I assured her it was and I sent Clinton a copy of my book and a memo and the rest is history.”
In 2005, Lichtman also hit a home run when he said that the political stage was looking so bad for Republicans that Democrats could pick a name out of the phone book and win in 2008, the year a little known first-term senator became the first African-American to win the presidency.
Now Lichtman’s predicting a repeat performance by Obama.
Below are each of the keys and how it falls for Obama.
Party mandate: After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than it did after the previous midterm elections. Says Lichtman, “Even back in January 2010 when I first released my predictions, I was already counting on a significant loss.” Obama loses this key.
Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination. Says Lichtman on Obama’s unchallenged status, “I never thought there would be any serious contest against Barack Obama in the Democratic primary.” Obama wins this key.
Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president. Easy win here for Obama.
Third Party: There is no significant third party challenge. Obama wins this point.
Short term economy: The economy is not in recession during the election campaign. Here Lichtman declares an “undecided.”
Long-term economy: Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms. Says Lichtman, “I discounted long term economy against Obama. Clearly we are in a recession.” Obama loses this key.
Policy change: The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy. “There have been major policy changes in this administration. We’ve seen the biggest stimulus in history and an complete overhaul of the healthcare system so I gave him policy change,” says the scholar. Another win for Obama.
Social unrest: There is no sustained social unrest during the term. Says Lichtman, “There wasn’t any social unrest when I made my predictions for 2012 and there still isn’t.” Obama wins a fifth key here.
Scandal: The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal. “This administration has been squeaky clean. There’s nothing on scandal,” says Lichtman. Another Obama win.
Foreign/military failure: The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs. Says Lichtman, “We haven’t seen any major failure that resembles something like the Bay of Pigs and don’t foresee anything.” Obama wins again.
Foreign/military success: The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs. “Since Osama bin Laden was found and killed, I think Obama has achieved military success.” Obama wins his eighth key.
Incumbent charisma: The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero. Explains Lichtman, “I did not give President Obama the incumbent charisma key. I counted it against him. He’s really led from behind. He didn’t really take the lead in the healthcare debate, he didn’t use his speaking ability to move the American people during the recession. He’s lost his ability to connect since the 2008 election.” Obama loses this key.
Challenger charisma: The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero. Says Lichtman, “We haven’t seen any candidate in the GOP who meets this criteria and probably won’t.” Obama wins, bringing his total to nine keys, three more than needed to win reelection."
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/08/30/never-wrong-pundit-picks-obama-to-win-in-2012
Congrès: une première dans l'histoire?
Un rejet d'une invitation présidentielle?
"For the first time in history, a U.S. House Speaker has publicly rebuffed -- or at least moved to rebuff -- a request from the President of the United States to address a joint session of Congress.
The unexpected request, and unprecedented diss, have touched off a round of public partisan sniping so bitter, it's been at least since debt limit negotiations broke down in July that we've seen anything like it.
The White House confirms to TPM that it gave Congressional leadership the heads up before announcing its request publicly and no objections were raised at the time. Republicans say they never signed off, and were never asked to sign off.
"No one in the Speaker's office - not the Speaker, not any staff - signed off on the date the White House announced today," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner. "Unfortunately we weren't even asked if that date worked for the House. Shortly before it arrived this morning, we were simply informed that a letter was coming. It's unfortunate the White House ignored decades - if not centuries - of the protocol of working out a mutually agreeable date and time before making any public announcement."
A senior Democratic aide, granted anonymity to explain the sequence of events honestly, does not dispute that the White House acted hastily.
"I would acknowledge that," the source said. But the broader point, according to the same source, and as confirmed by both House and Senate historians, is that the President has always been allowed to convene a joint session at his pleasure.
"Both sides are citing precedent and protocol. I think both arguments have point," the source said. "When the President requests to address Congress, Congress accommodates -- that's the most important precedent point. Does Boehner know whether or how President Coolidge consulted Speaker Longworth?"
The offices of both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) confirm that Boehner did not ask them to sign off on the delay.
"The childish behavior coming out of the Speaker's office today is truly historic," said another senior Dem aide. "It is unprecedented to reject the date that a President wants to address a Joint Session of the Congress. People die and state funerals are held with less fuss, so the logistics excuse by the Speaker's office is laughable. Yes, consultation always occurs, but the President always gets the date he wants.""
Wonder woman: veut-on un film?
À l'évidence l'auteure de cet article en veut un! Vrai qu'il ne s'est rien fait depuis la "belle époque" de Lynda Carter.
"Ask someone unfamiliar with comic books to name three superheroes, and chances are that they’ll mention Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman — arguably the most iconic representatives of the capes genre. Until very recently, it was far less likely that the average person would have cited or even considered Green Lantern.
So it would stand to reason that Wonder Woman, who has been a major part of the DC Universe since 1941, would get the big-screen treatment long before a second-tier character that only recently entered the general public consciousness. Yet, Hal Jordan made it to Hollywood first and already has a sequel in the works. Amazon Princess Diana can’t even get a live-action TV show off the ground.
It’s bad enough that Wonder Woman has consistently received second-class-citizen treatment compared to her alleged equals. The Man of Steel and the Dark Knight have had several major motion pictures across several generations, with more on the way. Wonder Woman’s last big moment outside of comics was when Lynda Carter donned the costume in the ’70s. Not to harp on Green Lantern, who is perfectly OK, but it’s ludicrous that he’s the star of a franchise while there’s still no Wonder Woman film in sight.
Whether on message boards or in conversations with other comic book readers, we’ve heard several theories about why this project hasn’t happened, despite some well-documented attempts to make it so. Out of sheer frustration, we’re going to address them, as well as other things that could be behind the foot-dragging."
Elle argumente plus loin dans le texte:
http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/31/wheres-my-wonder-woman-movie/?hpt=hp_c2
Obama demande une session conjointe au Congrès
Un geste de leadership mais également de stratégie puisque les candidats républicains devraient débattre au même moment...
"Upping the stakes of his push for a major jobs plan, President Barack Obama has requested House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to call a joint session of Congress that would take place on September 7, 2011.
The letter, sent from the White House to the respective leaders, reads as follows:
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. Leader:),
Our Nation faces unprecedented economic challenges, and millions of hardworking Americans continue to look for jobs. As I have traveled across our country this summer and spoken with our fellow Americans, I have heard a consistent message: Washington needs to put aside politics and start making decisions based on what is best for our country and not what is best for each of our parties in order to grow the economy and create jobs. We must answer this call.
Therefore, I respectfully request the opportunity to address a Joint Session of Congress on September 7, 2011, at 8:00 p.m. It is my intention to lay out a series of bipartisan proposals that the Congress can take immediately to continue to rebuild the American economy by strengthening small businesses, helping Americans get back to work, and putting more money in the paychecks of the Middle Class and working Americans, while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order. It is our responsibility to find bipartisan solutions to help grow our economy, and if we are willing to put country before party, I am confident we can do just that.
A request for comment from Speaker Boehner's office as to whether he will formally invite the president to address Congress was not immediately returned.
If the president's request is granted, the joint session would provide him with the type of audience that usually accompanies a State of the Union address. It would also add additional weight to an already critical push by the administration to shift political discussions to job creation.
Obama has deployed this tactic in the past. After a series of town hall protests nearly derailed the health care reform legislative process in the summer of 2009, the president addressed a joint session.
Politics also seem to be at play here. The president's speech would occur at precisely the same time as the Republican presidential field is set to hold a presidential debate at the Reagan library in California."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/obama-joint-session-jobs_n_943471.html
Ground zero: état des lieux avant les commémorations
"When you walk in, all you see is a construction site.
Amid the hum and rumble of downtown Manhattan -- not to mention the clang of steel and the tangle of cranes -- hard-hatted workers in fluorescent orange vests yell orders, spread cement, move machines. Empty boxes litter the ground. Shop lights hang from extension cords like Christmas bulbs.
Stacks of paving stones, cinderblocks and plywood are everywhere. Scaffolding and mesh divide work areas from visitors. Chain-link fencing marks a perimeter; beyond it, iron and steel rise from bedrock.
At one end of ground zero, a new skyscraper -- 1 World Trade Center, once known as Freedom Tower -- rises almost 80 stories. A September 11 museum is nearing completion; it will open next year. Three more office towers are in various states of development. Eventually, a transportation hub and shopping arcade will connect the complex underground. The entire project is expected to be finished around 2015.
But among the construction, there is a finished plaza. And at the center of the plaza, there is only stillness.
Two pools -- "voids," as designer Michael Arad calls them -- plunge into the Earth. Located on the footprints of the old Twin Towers, they are giant, empty, open-topped cubes. Their walls are clad in dark granite, their lips surrounded by brass parapets engraved with nearly 3,000 names: those killed here on September 11 as well as in a 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.
It's a sight that would appear to be almost "more than any of us can bear," to borrow the words of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, except for two things: the trees and the water.
The trees -- more than 400 -- line the walkways and plaza leading to the voids. All but one are recent transplants. The lone "Survivor Tree," a callery pear, was found in the ruins and nursed back to health. The greenery provides a bucolic sense in the midst of city concrete.
And then, in the dry granite voids, the water is turned on. It falls beneath the names etched in brass and into the pools below, washing away the city noise in a cool spray. The waterfalls create a sense of peace and solace, softening the voids' stark chasms."
Pour le reste de l'article:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/31/911.memorial/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
Tea party en Iowa: incertitudes
La fin de Palin? Seuls les caricaturistes et les humoristes vont vraiement regretter son départ. Vivement que ce cirque se termine pour que toute l'Attention soit concentrée sur les "véritables" candidats républicains. Qui sont peu nombreux...
"First Sarah Palin was scheduled to attend the Tea Party of America's Iowa rally this weekend. Then Christine O'Donnell was invited. Then Christine O'Donnell was uninvited. Then she was re-invited. Now Palin is out. Maybe.
Easy to follow, right? According to the Wall Street Journal, Palin will not share the stage with O'Donnell, who she famously endorsed in 2010, because the ex-governor is sick of "continual lying" by the event's organizers. But there's still confusion over what's going on: Real Clear Politics' Scott Conroy disputed the report on Twitter, saying sources had told him the event was only "on hold," while a Tea Party of America official told reporter Shushanna Walshe the event was still a go after a talk with Palin.
It's easy to see where Palin might get a negative impression of the organizers, however. After initially asking O'Donnell to join the event, Tea Party of America's top officials split over their reasons for rescinding O'Donnell's initial invite, with president Ken Crow citing scheduling problems and co-founder Charles Gruschow citing widespread disdain for the former Senate candidate among Tea Party activists. They quickly brought her back into the fold, however, and Crow said they had "panicked" initially in dropping her.
Palin, who has yet to rule out a presidential bid, will still visit Iowa this weekend for other events."
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/sarah-palin-cancels-christine-odonnell-event.php?ref=fpb
mardi 30 août 2011
Meryl Streep: hommage du Kennedy center
La meilleure actrice américaine? Je n'oublierai jamais certaines de ses performances dont celle de Francesca Johnson dans The Bridges of Madison County (Eastwood).
Extrait du fim (une des très bonnes bonnes trames musicales du cinéma):
"Meryl Streep, says Larry King. The former CNN host tweeted on Tuesday, “My sources say Meryl Streep will be one of the Kennedy Center honorees this year. You heard it here first.”
The legendary actress has yet to be honored, but she has participated in the Washington awards ceremony in the past. She honored director Mike Nichols in 2003, and in 2009, she paid tribute to actor Robert DeNiro. After Streep made her speech about DeNiro, Carl Reiner took the stage and called her “the greatest actress in the world, bar none.""
Perry panic: le réveil de la gauche américaine
Les derniers sondages, tous favorables à Perry chez les républicains, soulèvent la gauche!
"In his two weeks as a presidential candidate, Rick Perry has done something that neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney could do: wake up the left.
Perry panic has spread from the conference rooms of Washington, D.C., to the coffee shops of Brooklyn, with the realization that the conservative Texan could conceivably become the 45th president of the United States, a wave of alarm centering around Perry’s drawling, small-town affect and stands on core cultural issues such as women’s rights, gun control, the death penalty and the separation of church and state.
The epidemic of lefty angst isn’t just a matter of specific Perry policies though; it goes to the heart of the liberal worldview. His smashing debut on the presidential stage suggests that the victory of an urban liberal Democrat, Barack Obama, wasn’t a step toward a more progressive nation, but just a leftward swing of an increasingly wild pendulum, now poised to rocket to the right.
“His entry in the race is a signal and a wake-up call,” the Rev. Al Sharpton told POLITICO.
Perry, Sharpton said, “is looking to go to the O.K. Corral and start shooting…. Rather than the left get caught sleeping, we better load up, because he is bringing it.”
For Democrats, the pre-Perry GOP primary process was hardly for the faint of heart, as the other candidates have jockeyed to show who dislikes Obama the most. But even as the primary is fought on conservative turf, liberal leaders say they and their constituents see Perry as far worse than your average, hated Republican, and indeed as bad – if not worse – than his hated predecessor in Austin, George W. Bush. And progressives who might have had a hard time getting worked up about Mitt Romney find themselves struggling for superlatives with which to express their fear of a President Perry.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62363.html
Fox News (Bill Nye) et le réchauffement climatique
Fox n'est à droite, la chaîne est plutôt "out of this world"... Combien de bêtises peut-on lancer au nom de la liberté d'expression?
"Just days after Hurricane Irene swept up the East Coast, causing massive flooding in Vermont and leading to almost 40 deaths, Fox Business Network personality Charles Payne just had to ask, is global warming really to blame?
His guest, Bill Nye "The Science Guy," said there is evidence to suggest it is a result of global warming, but that climatologists will need more time to fully connect the dots. Nye went on to lay out in plain terms some of the facts of climate change, including rising temperatures in the Pacific ocean. The two debated a Newsweek story claiming radical weather is the "new normal," with Payne asking Nye if that was "irresponsible, or is there any science behind it?"
Well, Nye said, "there's a lot more science behind it than saying it's not."
"The world is getting warmer," he added. "Everybody, the world is getting warmer." Nye went on to give some context to former Vice President Al Gore's remarks comparing global warming skepticism to 20th century racism before Payne said, "you're confusing our viewers.""
"Just days after Hurricane Irene swept up the East Coast, causing massive flooding in Vermont and leading to almost 40 deaths, Fox Business Network personality Charles Payne just had to ask, is global warming really to blame?
His guest, Bill Nye "The Science Guy," said there is evidence to suggest it is a result of global warming, but that climatologists will need more time to fully connect the dots. Nye went on to lay out in plain terms some of the facts of climate change, including rising temperatures in the Pacific ocean. The two debated a Newsweek story claiming radical weather is the "new normal," with Payne asking Nye if that was "irresponsible, or is there any science behind it?"
Well, Nye said, "there's a lot more science behind it than saying it's not."
"The world is getting warmer," he added. "Everybody, the world is getting warmer." Nye went on to give some context to former Vice President Al Gore's remarks comparing global warming skepticism to 20th century racism before Payne said, "you're confusing our viewers.""
Commémoration 9/11: discours d'Obama en clôture
"President Barack Obama plans to speak at the Washington National Cathedral on the evening of September 11 to commemorate the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, event organizers said Tuesday.
The three-day event, entitled "A Call to Compassion," is designed to "honor the memories of those lost, heal the wounds caused by terrorism and war, and gain new hope to move forward as a nation," a news release said.
It will begin on Friday, September 9, with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta speaking at "A Concert to Honor," a memorial concert dedicated to the victims of 9/11 as well as the more than 6,000 troops who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Saturday, September 10, families are invited to attend a free public concert, organizers said. This event will be called "A Concert to Heal."
Sunday, September 11, will mark the reopening of the National Cathedral following last week's 5.8-magnitude earthquake.
The day will begin with an interfaith vigil where religious leaders will gather in prayer as the cathedral tolls its 12-ton funeral bell to mark the moments when airplanes struck the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center, hit the Pentagon, and crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, said organizers.
Obama also plans to visit all three memorial sites on the morning of September 11, the cathedral said. Later in the evening, he and first lady Michelle Obama will attend "A Concert for Hope," where the president will deliver his speech.
"It is our hope that the Cathedral's commemoration, especially with President Obama's participation in it, will move us further down the path toward healing," said Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III.
The Washington National Cathedral joined with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Pentagon Memorial Fund, and the Flight 93 National Memorial to present the event."
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/08/30/obama.september.11/index.html?hpt=po_bn1
My fellow american: appel à la tolérance et à l'ouverture envers les musulmans américains
Quelques commentaires font dresser les cheveux. On peut comprendre une certaine peur depuis le 9/11, mais je n'aimerais pas être musulman aux États-Unis...
Dick Cheney "In my time": au tour de McCain!
Encore un peu d'action...
"There are many targets in Dick Cheney's new book, "In My Time." But one that the vice president seems to relish chiding -- time and again -- is Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who sparred famously with the Bush administration over taxes and interrogation policy only to be burdened with the Bush legacy when running for the White House.
(Click here to see the biggest revelations from Cheney's book.)
The Arizona Republican's name first comes up in Cheney's memoir when the topic turns to McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) 2005 effort to rein in some of the abuses of the Bush-sanctioned interrogation programs. Cheney, the architect of those programs, barely hides his disdain in the book, insisting that McCain "lost his temper and stormed out of the meeting" he had set up with CIA Director Porter Goss to brief him on the intelligence gleaned from those interrogations.
"[H]is view of the program was certainly not unanimous among his fellow former POWs," Cheney wrote.
The real dig however comes many pages later, when Cheney describes the height of the 2008 presidential campaign and the backdrop of the collapsing financial markets. Cheney writes:
On September 24, 2008, Republican presidential nominee John McCain announced he was suspending his presidential campaign to come back to Washington to deal with the financial crisis. It was a move that frankly surprised many of us in the White House. After all, there really wasn't much John could actually do, and it seemed pretty risky to announce the campaign suspension and head back to Washington without being clear about what you could actually deliver. But we wanted McCain to win, so when he asked the president to convene the congressional leadership in the Cabinet Room of the White House to discuss the financial crisis, the president did it. He called Senator Obama, McCain's opponent, and asked him to be there as well. What unfolded that day in the West Wing was likely unique in the annals of American presidential contests.
[...]
When the president turned to Senator McCain to speak, he passed. Since he had called for the meeting in the first place, that was a surprise. After a few other people expressed their opinions, most of them negative, the president came back to McCain. This time he spoke, but only for himself. It was a marked contrast with Obama, whose words carried the authority of all the Democrats in the room. Senator McCain added nothing of substance. It was entirely unclear why he'd returned to Washington and why he'd wanted the congressional leadership called together. I left the Cabinet Room when the meeting was over thinking the Republican presidential ticket was in trouble.
Cheney's right. The sheer randomness of McCain's decision to suspend his campaign did, in the end, put one of the nails in the coffin. But Cheney -- who actually campaigned for McCain in his home state of Wyoming -- does the Arizona Republican few favors in his retelling of that story, instead choosing to distance him and the Bush team from that campaign altogether. At one point, Cheney writes that the McCain campaign refused to share its tracking polls with the Bush team once the senator's numbers began to "nosedive.""
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/30/dick-cheney-book-john-mccain_n_941573.html
Obama et la communauté noire: les leaders exercent de la pression
J'avais déjà publié deux messages sur le sujet la semaine dernière... Obama devra éventuellement considérer les critiques.
"If there’s anything close to a political certainty in 2012, it’s that Barack Obama will get more than 90 percent of the African-American vote.
But that doesn’t mean every black Obama supporter will vote for him happily — nor does it guarantee that turnout will approach the stratospheric levels of 2008, even though Obama needs a huge showing from his base to offset the expected loss of swing voters in states like North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
With that in mind, prominent black leaders — fearing Obama is not only taking them for granted but avoiding them in public — have turned up the heat on the nation’s first African-American president, transforming all-in-the-family concerns into open criticism of the president at a time when they had hoped the completion of a monument to Martin Luther King Jr. near the National Mall would bring a moment of unity.
The leaders are tired, they say, of Obama dog-whistling his support for a broad black agenda rather than explicitly embracing the kind of war on racism, poverty and economic segregation embodied by King.
“You can spend a lot of time trying to win over white independents, but if you don’t pay attention to your base, African-Americans, if you have not locked up your base yet, you’ve got a serious problem,” said CNN contributor Roland Martin.
“African-Americans will vote for him again, 88, 92, 95 percent. The question is what’s the turnout? I’ll vote for you. But will I bring ten other people along, like I did in 2008? That’s the danger here for him. He doesn’t have the historical factor to lean on as much in 2012 as he did in 2008. … And the first step is that he has to be willing to speak to this audience, black people.”
In a striking turnabout for a president who has rewritten American racial history, Obama finds himself the target of criticism from the black cultural and political elite that has, for the most part, been leery of airing its disappointment."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62284.html
Mexique: escalade de la violence
Les gouvernements mexicain et américain travailleront-ils ensemble?
"The appalling barbarity of a deliberately set casino fire that left 52 people dead in the northern city of Monterrey last week is all the more reason for Mexican President Felipe Calderón to intensify his country’s courageous fight against drug criminals and for the United States to do everything it can to help its southern neighbor. Mexico is waging the fight of its life, with an uncertain outcome that carries huge stakes for the future of that country and the well-being of the United States, as well.
Mexicans have traditionally been wary of any “help” from the United States. They fear it comes with strings attached and represents some form of intervention in domestic affairs. The latest escalation by that country’s savage mobsters should be reason enough to set aside all such notions once and for all.
The casino fire was a flagrant act of terrorism that cannot go unanswered. If once there were well-founded reasons for Mexico’s suspicion of U.S. motives, such attitudes must change as the two countries face a common enemy that flaunts its brutal methods and shows deep contempt for authority and disregard for common decency.
Clearly, Mexicans are getting exhausted, and increasingly fear for their lives. In the five years since President Calderón decided to confront the growing menace posed by drug criminals, some 35,000 people have died. Not since the days of the Mexican Revolution, 100 years ago, and the Cristero uprising that followed it, has Mexico undergone such incredible violence. But giving in to the drug criminals — just standing aside and letting them go about their business undisturbed — is no solution."
Pour la suite:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/29/2380906/escalation-in-mexico.html
11 septembre: directives de la Maison Blanche
On tente d'éviter les provocations...
"The White House in recent days has quietly disseminated two sets of documents. One is framed for overseas allies and their citizens and was sent to American embassies and consulates around the globe. The other includes themes for Americans here and underscores the importance of national service and what the government has done to prevent another major attack in the United States. That single-page document was issued to all federal agencies, officials said.
After weeks of internal debate, White House officials adopted the communications documents to shape public events and official statements, and they sought to strike a delicate balance between messages designed for these two very important but very different audiences on a day when the world’s attention will be focused on President Obama, his leadership team and his nation.
The guidelines list what themes to underscore — and, just as important, what tone to set. Officials are instructed to memorialize those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and thank those in the military, law enforcement, intelligence or homeland security for their contributions since.
“A chief goal of our communications is to present a positive, forward-looking narrative,” the foreign guidelines state.
Copies of the internal documents were provided to The New York Times by officials in several agencies involved in planning the anniversary commemorations. “The important theme is to show the world how much we realize that 9/11 — the attacks themselves and violent extremism writ large — is not ‘just about us,’ ” said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal White House planning.
Some senior Obama administration leaders had advocated a lengthy program of speeches and events to mark the anniversary, but the final decision was for lower-key appearances by Mr. Obama and other senior leaders only on the days leading up to the anniversary and on Sept. 11 itself.
Mr. Obama in his weekly address on Saturday said that this year’s anniversary will be one of “service and remembrance.”
“We need to make sure we’re speaking to a very broad set of audiences who will be affected by the anniversary,” Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, said in a telephone interview on Friday.
That may be, but some American counterterrorism and intelligence officials are complaining that the White House missed out on tying together the 10th anniversary with recently announced strategies to combat terrorism and violent extremism into a more coherent, longer-term plan. “They don’t do that kind of long-term planning,” said a senior counterterrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid disciplinary measures from the White House. Mr. Rhodes rejected that criticism, saying these themes have threaded through many of Mr. Obama’s speeches in recent months."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/us/politics/30terror.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha24
lundi 29 août 2011
Kadhafi: la famille en Algérie?
"Moammar Gadhafi's wife and three of his children fled Libya to neighboring Algeria on Monday, firm evidence that the longtime leader has lost his grip on the country.
Gadhafi's whereabouts were still unknown and rebels are worried that if he remains in Libya, it will stoke more violence. In Washington, the Obama administration said it has no indication Gadhafi has left the country.
Rebels also said one of Gadhafi's other sons, elite military commander Khamis, was probably killed in battle.
The Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Gadhafi's wife Safia, his sons Hannibal and Mohammed, and his daughter Aisha entered the country across the land border. It said Algerian authorities have informed the United Nations Secretary General, the president of the U.N. Security Council, and the head of the Libyan rebels transitional leadership council.
Ahmed Jibril, an aide to rebel National Transitional Council head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, said officials would "demand that Algerian authorities hand them over to Libya to be tried before Libyan courts."
Gadhafi's children played important roles in Libya's military and economic life. Hannibal headed the maritime transport company; Mohammed the national Olympic committee. Aisha, a lawyer, helped in the defense of toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the trial that led to his hanging."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/gaddafi-algeria-family-flees_n_940583.html?ir=Canada
Sables bitumineux: dites oui!
Pas certain que la position de cet auteur plaise ici, mais sa réflexion n'est pas dénuée d'intérêt! L'auteur,Robert Samuelson, écrit pour le Washington post et ses chroniques paraissent également dans plusieurs autres journaux.
"When it comes to energy, America is lucky to be next to Canada, whose proven oil reserves are estimated by Oil and Gas Journal at 175 billion barrels. This ranks just behind Saudi Arabia (260 billion) and Venezuela (211 billion) and ahead of Iran (137 billion) and Iraq (115 billion). True, about 97 percent of Canada's reserves consist of Alberta's controversial oil sands, but new technologies and high oil prices have made them economically viable. Expanded production can provide the U.S. market with a growing source of secure oil for decades.
We would be crazy to turn our back on this. In a global oil market repeatedly threatened by wars, revolutions, and natural and man-made disasters -- and where government-owned oil companies control development of about three-quarters of known reserves -- having dependable suppliers is no mean feat. We already import about half our oil, and Canada is our largest supplier with about 25 percent of imports. But its conventional fields are declining. Only oil sands can fill the gap."
Will we encourage this? Do we say "yes" to oil sands? Or do we increase our exposure to unstable world oil markets?
Those are the central questions posed by the proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline connecting Alberta's oil sands to U.S. refineries on the Texas Gulf coast. The pipeline requires White House approval, and environmentalists adamantly oppose it."
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/08/29/say_yes_to_oil_sands_111106.html
Alan Krueger: un prof de Princeton dans l'équipe d'Obama
De la théorie à la pratique!
"President Obama on Monday nominated Alan Krueger to run his Council of Economic Advisers, moving to fill an important vacancy on an economic team that has undergone a nearly total makeover.
Krueger, 50, a Princeton University economics professor, would step up to the vacancy created by the departure of Austan Goolsbee.
Goolsbee, a long-time Obama adviser, announced his return to the University of Chicago earlier this summer. (Watch video: Austan Goolsbee's swan song)
"As one of the country's leading economists, Alan has been a key voice on a vast array of economic issues for more than two decades," Obama said in a statement.
The appointment comes at a critical time for the administration. Obama is planning to make a much-anticipated speech next week to propose ways Washington could help the fragile recovery.
"Given the focus of the administration on jobs and unemployment, he's the ideal choice for the position," said Morris Kleiner, a labor economist and professor at the University of Minnesota who has collaborated with Krueger."
http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/29/news/economy/obama_economic_adviser/?hpt=po_bn1
Sondage Tea party: le mouvement pique du nez...
Un regain du bon sens?
"It seems that the Tea Party's governing style, most clearly on display during the debt ceiling fight in Congress, has taken a toll on Americans' view of the movement. Polls have been showing a drop in its approval, and a new AP/GfK poll shows that its unfavorable rating has seen a sharp rise. 46 percent of those surveyed said they have a negative view of the Tea Party movement, versus 28 who say they view it favorably.
The last time the AP conducted a national poll on Americans' favorability of Tea Partiers was in their pre-governing period: throughout 2010 the conservative movement was viewed slightly unfavorably but the splits were close. In June of 2010 it even earned a positive rating, with 33 percent of over 1,000 adults surveyed finding the movement favorable against 30 percent. In the last AP rating, taken Nov. 3-8, 2010, directly after the 2010 election, the split stood at a slim negative rating of 32 percent favorable against 36 unfavorable.
The jump of ten points in the negative number is all in the "very unfavorable" category. In November of 2010 there were 22 percent who viewed the Tea Party that way, which has risen to 32 percent. The "somewhat unfavorable" number remains unchanged in the last nine months, steady at 14 percent."
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/tea-party-unfavorability-jumps-in-new-ap-poll.php?ref=fpa
Irene: les désastres naturels peuvent devenir des désastres politiques
Tours les présidents sont confrontés à cette réalité... À lire en entier. L'auteur, Julian E. Zelizer, est un historien.
"As Hurricane Irene gathered force, moving its way up toward the populated areas of the East Coast, politicians in both parties scrambled to prepare. President Obama cut short his vacation on Martha's Vineyard to return to Washington. Governors and mayors in all the affected states issued warnings, with mandatory and voluntary evacuations, and state officials mobilized.
Every politician, red and blue, realized the stakes involved. The failure to prepare and respond effectively to this disaster could be politically devastating to the standing of any politician. The failure to clean up the damage from the hurricane in the next few days, swiftly and effectively, could undercut any political future.
Some presidents have been very effective at handling natural disasters. One of the famous cases took place with Hurricane Betsy in Louisiana in September 1965. Democratic Sen. Russell Long called the president to urge him to visit. When Lyndon Johnson hesitated because of his busy schedule, the canny Long said: "If you go there right now, Mr. President, they couldn't beat you if Eisenhower ran!"
Johnson, motivated by a mix of humanitarian and political incentives, went right away. He traveled the streets, talking to residents and inspecting the damage. Johnson leaned on Robert Phillips from the Office of Emergency Planning to take quick action and to do what was necessary to provide relief.
During one phone conversation, with Long on the line, he said: "Now, in times of distress, it's necessary that all the members of the family get together and lay aside any individual problems they have or any personal grievances and try to take care of the sick mother, and we've got a sick mother on our hands. And as I said the other night when I was there, we've got to cut out all the red tape. We've got to work around the clock. We've got to ignore hours."
Relief arrived, and Congress also passed the Flood Control Act of 1965, which helped to rebuild the area."
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/27/zelizer.natural.disaster.politics/index.html?hpt=po_t2
Rick Perry est-il un idiot? (Politico)
Mon extrait préféré de l'article:
"Doubts about Perry’s intellect have hounded him since he was first elected as a state legislator nearly three decades ago. In Austin, he’s been derided as a right-place, right-time pol who looks the part but isn’t so deep – “Gov. Goodhair.” Now, with the chatter picking back up among his enemies and taking flight in elite Republican circles, the rap threatens to follow him to the national stage.
“He’s like Bush only without the brains,” cracked one former Republican governor who knows Perry, repeating a joke that has made the rounds.""
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62214.html
Abandon de Tim Pawlenty: l'explication!
L'argent!
"Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's exit from the Republican primary was likely hastened by the fact that his presidential campaign was in debt, several sources tell The Huffington Post.
Pawlenty quit the race the day after a third-place finish in Iowa's Ames Straw Poll, a longtime benchmark for would-be Republican nominees. His early exit, announced in an interview with ABC's "This Week," surprised some. Pawlenty had pledged to soldier on after Ames the day before, calling the primary "a long process" that he was "just beginning."
But several Republican sources tell The Huffington Post that the former Minnesota governor was confronted by a far more intractable obstacle than leapfrogging the first two finishers -- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Texas Rep. Ron Paul -- or facing the newest entrant to the field, Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Pawlenty, the sources say, was out of cash, his campaign having spent heavily in the lead-up to Ames, hoping for a better score than what he got.
It's not clear, however, how much debt Pawlenty has actually accrued. Requests for comment to former Pawlenty aides were declined.
One source suggested the campaign's debt was as high as $500,000, but another source with closer knowledge of the campaign deemed that figure far exaggerated. The official tally will be revealed on Oct. 15, when Pawlenty must deliver another filing to the Federal Election Commission."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/tim-pawlenty-campaign-debt_n_940103.html
9/11: les terroristes ont perdu, mais qui a gagné?
Bel article pour démarrer une discussion...
"Now, ten years later, it’s remarkable how much our city, like the country, has moved on. Decades are not supposed to come in tidy packages mandated by the calendar’s arbitrary divisions, but this decade did. For most Americans, the cloud of 9/11 has lifted. Which is not to say that a happier national landscape has been unveiled in its wake.
Three red-letter days in 2011 have certified the passing of the 9/11 decade as we had known it. The first, of course, was the killing of Osama bin Laden. We demand that our stories have beginnings, middles, and ends. While bin Laden’s demise wasn’t the final curtain for radical-Islamic terrorism, it was a satisfying resolution of the classic “dead or alive” Western that George W. Bush had dangled so tantalizingly before the nation in 2001, only to let the bad guy get away at Tora Bora. Once bin Laden was gone, he was gone from our politics, too. Terrorism has disappeared as a campaign issue; the old Bush-Cheney fear card can’t be found in the playbook of the GOP presidential contenders. Ron Paul’s isolationism increasingly seems like his party’s mainstream while the neocon orthodoxy of McCain-Palin looks like the cranky fringe.
The other red-letter days were August 5 and 6, with their twin calamities: the downgrading of America by Standard & Poor’s and the downing of a Chinook helicopter by the Taliban, making for the single most fatal day for Americans in Afghanistan. Among the fallen in that bloodbath were 22 Navy Seals, some of them members of the same revered team that had vanquished bin Laden. Yet their tragic deaths were runners-up in national attention next to our fiscal woes. America may still ostensibly be a country at war with terrorists, but that war is at most a low-grade fever for the vast American majority with no direct connection to the men and women fighting it. The battle consuming our attention and our energies these days is the losing struggle to stay financially afloat. In time, the connection between the ten-year-old war in Afghanistan and our new civil war over America’s three-year-old economic crisis may well prove the most consequential historical fact of the hideous decade they bracket."
http://nymag.com/news/9-11/10th-anniversary/frank-rich/
Caricature Ali Ferzat: Assad s'offre un original!
C'est la première fois que je croise une caricature de JIHO dans mon survol matinal de l'actualité....
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