Interests: Politics, Government, Media, Transportation, Space, Social Media, Civic Engagement, Washington, DC Following: The Obama Presidency, Decision 2012, The 112th Congress Work: myImpact.org- a non-profit working at the intersection of social media & citizen engagement
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
The Golden Report for Tuesday September 20
BREAKING I- US Sharpens Warning to Pakistan- “The Obama administration has sharply warned Pakistan that it must cut ties with a leading Taliban group based in the tribal region along the Afghan border and help eliminate its leaders, according to officials from both countries. In what amounts to an ultimatum, administration officials have indicated that the United States will act unilaterally if Pakistan does not comply.” Senior Administration officials, including Defense Secretary Panetta, CIA Director Petraeus and Secretary of State Clinton, have been delivering hard-line messages to their Pakistani counterparts in recent days, including at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and a 3 1/2 hour meeting that Clinton held on Sunday.
BREAKING II- The Washington Post is reporting exclusively tonight that that the United States is building a series of secret bases across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula from which to launch drone attacks. Last week in THE EVENING REPORTED we mentioned a series of US drone attacks in the nation of Yemen- one of the nations, and an al-Qaeda stronghold, that the United States has targeted in a renewed series of unmanned predator drone attacks this year. The information was first obtained through the WikiLeaks cables. “One of the installations is being established in Ethiopia, a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Shabab, the Somali militant group that controls much of the country. Another base is in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, where a small fleet of “hunter killer” drones resumed operations this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned aircraft could effectively patrol Somali territory from there,” the report says.
BREAKING III- President Obama will meet tomorrow evening with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier today, it was announced that the President will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow morning. The meetings are expected to be high-stakes ahead of a vote on Palestinian recognition [that the US has said it will block]. A bilateral meeting is not expected.
TOP STORY- Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in a car bombing in Afghanistan today- hours before President Obama met with current Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the United Nations. After meeting with the President, Karzai cut short his trip to New York in order to return to Afghanistan. The assassination is the latest setback for the US and coalition effort in Afghanistan. Last week, insurgents placed the US & other European embassies in Kabul under siege in a protracted firefight. And last month, 33 Navy SEALS were killed when their helicopter was targeted and brought down by insurgents. In July, President Obama announced his plan for a drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan, beginning next year, and the end of the surge he announced in 2009.
The INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND lowered its projects for economic growth for both the United States and Europe, as the Associated Press Reports, “The fund said it expected the American economy to grow just 1.5 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2012. Its June forecast was 2.5 percent in 2011 and 2.7 percent next year. The organization also lowered its outlook for the 17 European Union countries that use the euro. It predicted 1.6 percent growth this year and 1.1 percent next year, down from its June projections of 2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.”
WALL STREET ended the day mixed:
2012: Just a week after announcing her candidacy in the Massachusetts 2012 Senate race, Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren has a 46%-44% lead according to a new poll out today. Democrats will be targeting Massachusetts as one of their only chances of a Senate pick-up next year.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN POSSIBLE- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today suggested that the government may shutdown at the end of last week if the House & Senate can not reach an agreement over disaster funding. Earlier this week, it appeared that a deal was imminent to pass an continuing resolution through November 23rd [the same date the Supercommittee is expected to report back] and avoid a government shutdown. Although the conventional wisdom is that a shutdown will still be avoided, the current stalemate could extend into the weekend, and possibly force the House to stay in session through its planned Rosh Hashanah Recess. The sticking point is over offsetting additional funding for FEMA and both sides appear to be ready to go to the mat. “There is not going to be a government shutdown,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said today. “I’m not so sure about that, ” Majority Leader Reid repleid.
WATCH TOMORROW: The Federal Reserve will complete a two-day meeting and announce a decision on interest rate policy. No change is expected.
FINALLY- Glam Media has purchased the social networking company Ning- a platform that allowed individuals and organizations to create their own social networks. Last year, Ning shifted from a free service to a subscription-based model. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but TechCrunch reports it is likely higher than the $35 million that NewsCorp paid to acquire MySpace, but less than the estimated $100 million the company is estimated to have raised.
