Lackluster performance as of late, I know, I know. I've been relatively a bit out of the loop lately, but here's the latest.
UNITED STATES
Strong Storms-Strong storms and several tornadoes ripped across the southeast US this week, killing almost 300. The hardest hit was Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where destruction was pretty intense.
Cabinet Shakeup-We've known something like this would happen for awhile since the Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it known he will be resigning, but it became official this week that General David Petraeus (currently the head of the coalition troops in Afghanistan) will become head of the CIA and the CIA Director, Leon Panetta, is going to become the Defense Secretary.
Long Form Birth Certificate Released-A couple weeks after Donald Trump re-ignited the dead, fringe debate over whether Obama was actually born in the United States, the White House officially released Obama's long form birth certificate.
-As expected, Trump claimed credit over the release as he did a media blitz the next day. Some question the timing of the release being odd, others think this could have been a tactful political move by the White House because around now is when Republican candidates typically would declare their intent to run for President in 2012. This released gave Trump a media blitz and shot his poll ranking up amongst Republicans, potentially overshadowing any news release on a candidate running or maybe even discouraging potential candidates after seeing Trump's numbers. Since Trump wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell at winning the election, it could have been a smart move.
-The Administration's stated reason for the timing was that the debate is silly and there are more important things that need to be talked about.
INTERNATIONAL
Israel-The two ruling Palestinian governing bodies Hamas (Gaza Strip) and Fatah (West Bank) announced that it had reached an accord, ending an almost 5 year dispute between the two groups. This comes as a relative surprise to the world and will endanger peace talks with Israel, as Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group and refuses to negotiation any settlements with them or a government that includes them.
Morocco-At least 14 people were killed in Marrakesh, Morocco after an explosion went off at a cafe. The cause is not yet known, but all signs point to a terrorist attack.
MENA (Middle East - North Africa)-Syria continues to meet anti-government protests with severe force, death toll keeps increasing and is currently in the several hundred range.
-Yemen's President agreed to a 30 day time frame to step down and have elections. The move was welcomed in the international community, but was met with skepticism by the protestors.
-Libya continues as pretty much a stalemate right now. Misrata has essentially become deserted of civilians and is a giant hell hole. Two western photojournalists were killed on the "front line" by an RPG attack.
Royal Wedding-Blah. Kate is hot.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Issue 3 (April 15, 2011)
UNITED STATES
Shut Down Averted
-Congress & and White House narrowly averted a federal government shut down with about an hour to spare on Friday night. The deal reached calls for $38.5B in cost cutting, and did not include any of the policy riders (EPA & Planned Parenthood) that the Republicans wanted.
>PS: The fight that we had was about ~1% of 2011's budget, just sayin'.
Debt Ceiling
-The next big fight in Congress should be an interesting one. The US's debt ceiling ($14.3T) is expected to be reached in early- to mid-May. If Congress does not pass an increase to this ceiling, the United States technically goes into default as, by law, we cannot create more money to service our existing debt or incur more debt (to pay for anything).
-This would be absolutely catastrophic for the global economy and the US position in the economy. Given that, the chances of this not passing are essentially nil.
-However, given that this MUST pass, Republicans see this as an opportunity to try and include spending cuts and policy riders into the bill (sound familiar?). Obama called for a "clean bill" (nothing attached to it), but Boehner (Republican Speaker of the House, pronounced BAY-ner) pretty much said no-fucking-way Jose ("Guess what, Mr. President. Not a chance you're going to get a clean bill").
-It could very well turn into a giant game of political chicken, like the one we just saw, but with exponentially more dire consequences than a federal government shut down.
-Mitt Romney (former Republican Governor of Massachusetts) officially announced he was running for President in 2012, after coming in 3rd in the 2008 Republican primary.
Arizona is Retarded
-Arizona's congress has passed a law requiring presidential candidates to submit a long-form birth certificate in order to be placed on the state's ballot. The governor has yet to sign it, but with a Republican governor it looks likely to become law (she could abstain from signing it, but not actually veto it, and it would still become law without her "endorsement").
INTERNATIONAL
Portugal Bailout
>Portugal, the third EU country (behind Greece and Ireland), requests a bailout from the the EU/ECB (European Central Bank). The move follows a failure by Portugal's parliament to institute austerity measures aimed at getting their deficit and debt levels under control. As they were with the previous bailouts, Germans are pretty pissed that they will be called on again, to bailout their fiscally less-than-disciplined EU members.
Libya
>The AU (African Union) proposed terms for a cease fire, which was supposedly agreed to by Gaddhafi, but rejected by the rebels since it did not call for Gadhafi to step down.
>The rebels still suck at fighting and lack coordination, which has caused them to lose ground to pro-Gaddhafi forces. Reports say that pro-Gaddhafi forces have been indiscriminately shelling residential neighborhoods with artillery.
Cote d'Ivoire
>Ousted former president, Gbagbo, has surrendered and is in UN custody. Sporadic fighting continues in cities across the country.
Syria
>Protests have continued to escalate in Syria with security forces continuing to clamp down and have fired and killed a couple hundred protestors at this point.
Japan
>Monday morning another 7.1 quake hit northeast Japan.
>The Fukushima disaster has been raised to a level 7 (out of 7) on the scale a nuclear disasters. This technically puts it on par with the Chernobyl disaster, although it is releasing 10% (thus far) of the radiation that Chernobyl did.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel.
Shut Down Averted
-Congress & and White House narrowly averted a federal government shut down with about an hour to spare on Friday night. The deal reached calls for $38.5B in cost cutting, and did not include any of the policy riders (EPA & Planned Parenthood) that the Republicans wanted.
>PS: The fight that we had was about ~1% of 2011's budget, just sayin'.
Debt Ceiling
-The next big fight in Congress should be an interesting one. The US's debt ceiling ($14.3T) is expected to be reached in early- to mid-May. If Congress does not pass an increase to this ceiling, the United States technically goes into default as, by law, we cannot create more money to service our existing debt or incur more debt (to pay for anything).
-This would be absolutely catastrophic for the global economy and the US position in the economy. Given that, the chances of this not passing are essentially nil.
-However, given that this MUST pass, Republicans see this as an opportunity to try and include spending cuts and policy riders into the bill (sound familiar?). Obama called for a "clean bill" (nothing attached to it), but Boehner (Republican Speaker of the House, pronounced BAY-ner) pretty much said no-fucking-way Jose ("Guess what, Mr. President. Not a chance you're going to get a clean bill").
-It could very well turn into a giant game of political chicken, like the one we just saw, but with exponentially more dire consequences than a federal government shut down.
-Mitt Romney (former Republican Governor of Massachusetts) officially announced he was running for President in 2012, after coming in 3rd in the 2008 Republican primary.
Arizona is Retarded
-Arizona's congress has passed a law requiring presidential candidates to submit a long-form birth certificate in order to be placed on the state's ballot. The governor has yet to sign it, but with a Republican governor it looks likely to become law (she could abstain from signing it, but not actually veto it, and it would still become law without her "endorsement").
INTERNATIONAL
Portugal Bailout
>Portugal, the third EU country (behind Greece and Ireland), requests a bailout from the the EU/ECB (European Central Bank). The move follows a failure by Portugal's parliament to institute austerity measures aimed at getting their deficit and debt levels under control. As they were with the previous bailouts, Germans are pretty pissed that they will be called on again, to bailout their fiscally less-than-disciplined EU members.
Libya
>The AU (African Union) proposed terms for a cease fire, which was supposedly agreed to by Gaddhafi, but rejected by the rebels since it did not call for Gadhafi to step down.
>The rebels still suck at fighting and lack coordination, which has caused them to lose ground to pro-Gaddhafi forces. Reports say that pro-Gaddhafi forces have been indiscriminately shelling residential neighborhoods with artillery.
Cote d'Ivoire
>Ousted former president, Gbagbo, has surrendered and is in UN custody. Sporadic fighting continues in cities across the country.
Syria
>Protests have continued to escalate in Syria with security forces continuing to clamp down and have fired and killed a couple hundred protestors at this point.
Japan
>Monday morning another 7.1 quake hit northeast Japan.
>The Fukushima disaster has been raised to a level 7 (out of 7) on the scale a nuclear disasters. This technically puts it on par with the Chernobyl disaster, although it is releasing 10% (thus far) of the radiation that Chernobyl did.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Issue 2 (April 7, 2011)
UNITED STATES
Government Shut Down-If a stopgap budget (6 continuing resolutions have already been passed leading up to this point) is not passed by midnight Friday, the federal government will shut down. This would cause tax refund checks to be delayed, federal parks and monuments to close, 800k federal workers furloughed and paychecks for other gov't employees to be delayed, including military personnel. Congress would still get paid.
-The cliff notes leading to this are:
>Republicans and Democrats haven't agreed to an official budget for 2011 (it was due back in September 2010)
>Newly elected tea party Republicans, dozens of which have never held elected office, ran on the promise to cut over $100B from the federal budget. They realized they couldn't swing this and dropped their target to $50B. Tea partiers got pissed that these guys weren't living up to their campaign promises started loudly criticizing them. This caused Republicans to dig in and not give up any further.
>Democrats presented a plan to cut $30-some billion from the budget, Republicans insisted on more.
Emergency meetings between both houses of congress and the white house in order to get a plan down.
>Apparently the numbers they have essentially agreed upon, but the Repubs have placed policy riders into their version, which are unacceptable for Dems.
>These riders are (prepared to be get mad that these could cause a govt shutdown, since in both cases the dollar value is minimal):
>Language stating the EPA cannot regulate greenhouse gasses (as upheld by federal courts according to the EPA charter). Mind you, the Administration has told the EPA to study the effects and gave the power for the EPA to enact and enforce rules on this, they have NOT made any thus far. Repubs say this power is "bad for business" and wants to strip the EPA of it.
>To strip federal funding to Planned Parenthood (despite federal funding to Planned Parenthood already bans the use of money to be used to fund abortions)
>Both parties are afraid of public backlash if this happens, but moreso the Republicans. Last time this happened was during Clinton's administration and the next election the Republicans (who controlled the house w/ Newt Gingrich) suffered a huge setback.
INTERNATIONAL
Another Japan Quake-Thursday morning a 7.1 quake rocked Japan in a similar region to the previous 9.0 quake and tsunami that caused massive death tolls and the nuclear mess. The quake cause buildings 200 miles away to sway, but no reports of major damage were reported.
Libya-NATO air strikes mistakenly attacked rebel forces, killing at least 13. It has been the second mistaken attack on rebels in a week.
-Rebels have been pushed back from some smaller eastern cities. Rebels have been claiming the air support has not been used enough (ironically, this comes just as the US has stepped back it's forces, with France and Britain taking their place).
Ivory Coast-Supporters of the elected president, Alassane Ouattara, have essentially surrounded the previous president, who is still clinging to power, in the Presidential Palace. Rumors that he is negotiating his surrender have gone around, but so far nothing public has happened. The palace continues to be assaulted and shelled, but so far they have been held short of fully storming the palace.
-UN has told Ouattara that once he attains power (assuming it happens) to seriously investigate charges that his supporters have committed atrocities during the unrest.
Brazil School Shooting-A gunman walked into an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro and killed 11 people before committing suicide.
China Dissident-China claims the activist and artist I mentioned earlier this week was held on "economic crimes" (right...) and told the international community to fuck off and not interfere.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel.
Government Shut Down-If a stopgap budget (6 continuing resolutions have already been passed leading up to this point) is not passed by midnight Friday, the federal government will shut down. This would cause tax refund checks to be delayed, federal parks and monuments to close, 800k federal workers furloughed and paychecks for other gov't employees to be delayed, including military personnel. Congress would still get paid.
-The cliff notes leading to this are:
>Republicans and Democrats haven't agreed to an official budget for 2011 (it was due back in September 2010)
>Newly elected tea party Republicans, dozens of which have never held elected office, ran on the promise to cut over $100B from the federal budget. They realized they couldn't swing this and dropped their target to $50B. Tea partiers got pissed that these guys weren't living up to their campaign promises started loudly criticizing them. This caused Republicans to dig in and not give up any further.
>Democrats presented a plan to cut $30-some billion from the budget, Republicans insisted on more.
Emergency meetings between both houses of congress and the white house in order to get a plan down.
>Apparently the numbers they have essentially agreed upon, but the Repubs have placed policy riders into their version, which are unacceptable for Dems.
>These riders are (prepared to be get mad that these could cause a govt shutdown, since in both cases the dollar value is minimal):
>Language stating the EPA cannot regulate greenhouse gasses (as upheld by federal courts according to the EPA charter). Mind you, the Administration has told the EPA to study the effects and gave the power for the EPA to enact and enforce rules on this, they have NOT made any thus far. Repubs say this power is "bad for business" and wants to strip the EPA of it.
>To strip federal funding to Planned Parenthood (despite federal funding to Planned Parenthood already bans the use of money to be used to fund abortions)
>Both parties are afraid of public backlash if this happens, but moreso the Republicans. Last time this happened was during Clinton's administration and the next election the Republicans (who controlled the house w/ Newt Gingrich) suffered a huge setback.
INTERNATIONAL
Another Japan Quake-Thursday morning a 7.1 quake rocked Japan in a similar region to the previous 9.0 quake and tsunami that caused massive death tolls and the nuclear mess. The quake cause buildings 200 miles away to sway, but no reports of major damage were reported.
Libya-NATO air strikes mistakenly attacked rebel forces, killing at least 13. It has been the second mistaken attack on rebels in a week.
-Rebels have been pushed back from some smaller eastern cities. Rebels have been claiming the air support has not been used enough (ironically, this comes just as the US has stepped back it's forces, with France and Britain taking their place).
Ivory Coast-Supporters of the elected president, Alassane Ouattara, have essentially surrounded the previous president, who is still clinging to power, in the Presidential Palace. Rumors that he is negotiating his surrender have gone around, but so far nothing public has happened. The palace continues to be assaulted and shelled, but so far they have been held short of fully storming the palace.
-UN has told Ouattara that once he attains power (assuming it happens) to seriously investigate charges that his supporters have committed atrocities during the unrest.
Brazil School Shooting-A gunman walked into an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro and killed 11 people before committing suicide.
China Dissident-China claims the activist and artist I mentioned earlier this week was held on "economic crimes" (right...) and told the international community to fuck off and not interfere.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Issue 1 (April 4, 2011)
UNITED STATES
Airplane Safety
-Sun Country cancelled several hundred flights over the weekend after a flight had to do an emergency landing. A 5ft section of the main compartment ripped apart at the seem mid-flight. No one was injured. The FAA and NTSB is reviewing the evidence and issued forced inspections, as that area of the plane is not routinely inspected. Several Sun Country planes have been taken out of service due to the inspections.
Obama Reelection
-Early Monday morning Obama launched his 2012 reelection campaign via a video e-mailed to supporters and posted to his website. He isn't featured in it, instead it is a comically diverse (think college brochure) group of supporters in battleground states stating their personal reasons for supporting Obama.
-Early guesses are pegging Obama's fund raising ability to be close to $1 billion for this election. If this happens, it would be the most expensive race in history and mark a ~25% increase over his totals for 2008.
The only Republican who has announced so far is our very own T-Paw.
9/11 Trials
-In a reversal of policy Eric Holder, the US District Attorney, announced that the 9/11 co-conspirators will be tried by military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, instead of civilian trials by jury. Democrats criticized the move, Republicans high-five'd each other.
INTERNATIONAL
Libya Unrest
-Fighting continues across the country, heaviest in Misrata and Brega (major oil town).
-Turkey sent a humanitarian naval ship to Misrata to assist in medical care.
-US forces began scaling down their operation with Britain and France, under the leadership of NATO, taking the lead.
-Reports that Gaddafi has sent a diplomatic mission across Europe to discuss ending the conflict by shifting power to his sons. This will not be nearly enough for the rebels. As they do this, government forces continuing shelling civilian cities, causing a major credibility gap.
-Italy officially recognized the rebel council in Benghazi as the official government of Libya. France had already done so.
Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Unrest
-French troops were sent in to support existing French and UN troops already there, French troops took control of the major airport, which will allow it to begin operations again. UN has threatened strikes if violence persists.
-The unrest is due to the outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to give up power after losing the election in November. The winner of the election, Alassane Ouattara, is internationally recognized as the proper president.
-Forces loyal to each have been fighting across the country, but Ouattara forces have been making progress in obtaining control of major cities.
-Unrest has been going on for awhile, but until recently it has widely been overlooked and overshadowed by what's going on in North Africa.
-Ten bucks this helps you: Google Map of Cote d'Ivoire
Japan Nuclear Mess
-Radioactive water continues to leak out of the plant, they purposefully dumped a significant amount of radioactive water into the Pacific. The idea is to let the "less radioactive" water out, so there is room for the "more radioactive" water to stay inside the plant.
Haiti
-In a run-off election, Michel Martelly, won the Presidency.
Other Middle-East & North Africa (MENA) Unrest
-More crackdowns by government forces in Yemen.
-President of Yemen is widely seen as a US ally, specifically in the fight against terrorism (Yemen is a sh*t hole with significant Al Qaeda presence). The US, unexpectedly, shifted it's stance saying the Yemeni president should have a dialogue with the protestors (not a major shift) and possibly step aside (major policy shift).
-Afghanistan protests and violence have escalated in recent days following a pastor in Florida (same one from the 9/11 anniversary controversy) burned Qur'ans. At least 10 UN employees/officials/guards were killed on Friday after a UN compound was overran with enraged protestors.
-Protests (to varying degrees) continue in: Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan
China Dissidents
-On Sunday Ai Weiwei, a prominent Chinese artist and human rights activist, was detained in Beijing attempting to board a plane to Hong Kong. He was reported to be about to release a new project criticizing the Chinese government's handling of the major earthquake Szechuan province in May 2008, where 70 thousand died when the shoddy construction of schools and government buildings caused them to collapse on people.
-Ironically (or not), PBS' Frontline just released the first part of a documentary about him the week prior.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel
Airplane Safety
-Sun Country cancelled several hundred flights over the weekend after a flight had to do an emergency landing. A 5ft section of the main compartment ripped apart at the seem mid-flight. No one was injured. The FAA and NTSB is reviewing the evidence and issued forced inspections, as that area of the plane is not routinely inspected. Several Sun Country planes have been taken out of service due to the inspections.
Obama Reelection
-Early Monday morning Obama launched his 2012 reelection campaign via a video e-mailed to supporters and posted to his website. He isn't featured in it, instead it is a comically diverse (think college brochure) group of supporters in battleground states stating their personal reasons for supporting Obama.
-Early guesses are pegging Obama's fund raising ability to be close to $1 billion for this election. If this happens, it would be the most expensive race in history and mark a ~25% increase over his totals for 2008.
The only Republican who has announced so far is our very own T-Paw.
9/11 Trials
-In a reversal of policy Eric Holder, the US District Attorney, announced that the 9/11 co-conspirators will be tried by military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, instead of civilian trials by jury. Democrats criticized the move, Republicans high-five'd each other.
INTERNATIONAL
Libya Unrest
-Fighting continues across the country, heaviest in Misrata and Brega (major oil town).
-Turkey sent a humanitarian naval ship to Misrata to assist in medical care.
-US forces began scaling down their operation with Britain and France, under the leadership of NATO, taking the lead.
-Reports that Gaddafi has sent a diplomatic mission across Europe to discuss ending the conflict by shifting power to his sons. This will not be nearly enough for the rebels. As they do this, government forces continuing shelling civilian cities, causing a major credibility gap.
-Italy officially recognized the rebel council in Benghazi as the official government of Libya. France had already done so.
Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Unrest
-French troops were sent in to support existing French and UN troops already there, French troops took control of the major airport, which will allow it to begin operations again. UN has threatened strikes if violence persists.
-The unrest is due to the outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to give up power after losing the election in November. The winner of the election, Alassane Ouattara, is internationally recognized as the proper president.
-Forces loyal to each have been fighting across the country, but Ouattara forces have been making progress in obtaining control of major cities.
-Unrest has been going on for awhile, but until recently it has widely been overlooked and overshadowed by what's going on in North Africa.
-Ten bucks this helps you: Google Map of Cote d'Ivoire
Japan Nuclear Mess
-Radioactive water continues to leak out of the plant, they purposefully dumped a significant amount of radioactive water into the Pacific. The idea is to let the "less radioactive" water out, so there is room for the "more radioactive" water to stay inside the plant.
Haiti
-In a run-off election, Michel Martelly, won the Presidency.
-The first round of voting, in November, was widely seen as fraudulent and violent protests erupted afterwards. This round was seen as significantly more fair and calm.
Other Middle-East & North Africa (MENA) Unrest
-More crackdowns by government forces in Yemen.
-President of Yemen is widely seen as a US ally, specifically in the fight against terrorism (Yemen is a sh*t hole with significant Al Qaeda presence). The US, unexpectedly, shifted it's stance saying the Yemeni president should have a dialogue with the protestors (not a major shift) and possibly step aside (major policy shift).
-Afghanistan protests and violence have escalated in recent days following a pastor in Florida (same one from the 9/11 anniversary controversy) burned Qur'ans. At least 10 UN employees/officials/guards were killed on Friday after a UN compound was overran with enraged protestors.
-Protests (to varying degrees) continue in: Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan
China Dissidents
-On Sunday Ai Weiwei, a prominent Chinese artist and human rights activist, was detained in Beijing attempting to board a plane to Hong Kong. He was reported to be about to release a new project criticizing the Chinese government's handling of the major earthquake Szechuan province in May 2008, where 70 thousand died when the shoddy construction of schools and government buildings caused them to collapse on people.
-Ironically (or not), PBS' Frontline just released the first part of a documentary about him the week prior.
As reported by Jason Van Thiel
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