Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Big Black Swan who wrote (306479)	8/9/2011 12:10:04 PM
From: joseffy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

Obama's penchant for speeches now sounding hollower by the word August 9, 2011 by Andrew Malcolm LA TIMES latimesblogs.latimes.com This is the 931st day of the Barack Obama presidency. Yesterday Obama gave a strange statement to the media. He'd been away on another mini-vacation at Camp David. So, it was left to aides and Treasury Secy. Geithner to attempt to discredit the first-ever credit downgrading of the federal government. Every politician has at least one major weakness. Bill Clinton's is, well, well-known. George W. Bush's political weakness was thinking his intuition and instincts could carry him through any challenge. Barack Obama's weakness is thinking he can talk his way in or out of virtually any opportunity or difficulty. Being a Real Good Talker helped him get the job heading the law review. And entering politics. And succeeding early there, albeit within Chicago's rigged system. And being an RGT thrust him onto the national stage at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 when delegates had the foolish notion that John Kerry and John Edwards could win. Obama is very proud of his talking. In May this year he told a Boston fundraiser: "Back in 2004, I gave a little speech here that got some attention." And he waited for the crowd's applause. Which he got. Have you noticed how many remarks Obama has been making in recent weeks? Not a coincidence that they coincide with his lowest approval ratings ever. When in trouble, give a speech. Even if there's no visible audience. Calling on Congress to do this and that. Calling for more job creation. Calling for green cars and more windmills. Calling for a balanced approach from others when he had none of his own. Claiming his positions were quite clear, when they weren't. Calling for compromise between Republicans and Democrats, as if he was in the middle and not the nation's top Democrat. So, it was natural Monday when -- after a weekend's stewing, global markets reacted negatively to the U.S. downgrade -- Obama's instinct tempted him to make a public statement. Military aside, this may be any president's most powerful tool. Say something, anything. Everyone listens. And obediently runs off to alert the world. Just don't permit media questions that might create other news to clutter the message. So aides loaded his Teleprompter with 1,531 words. And off Obama went, as he so often does. If you listened to his words, they sounded fine, although dragging the slain U.S. soldiers in at the end of fiscal remarks felt forced. But if you read the full statement, as anyone could right here on The Ticket, you kept waiting for the point, the real rhetorical reason for the remarks. Like a grand restaurant with the most romantic atmosphere, crackling fireplace, flickering candles, exquisite place settings. And with impressive style the waiter proudly serves an empty plate -- and awaits your awe. Trouble is, real leadership is more than talking and calling for things. It takes a while, but over time listeners begin to notice rote rhetoric, predictable patterns, empty words. An example: We didn’t need a rating agency to tell us that we need a balanced, long-term approach to deficit reduction. That was true last week. That was true last year. That was true the day I took office. The day Obama took office, 931 of them ago. Subsequently, in his Monday remarks the president said this: I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed. Over the coming weeks? The need for a balanced, long-term approach was clear the day he took office $3+ trillion dollars ago and sometime soon he'll share his plans? Obama is still saying, 'Yes, we can.' But he never explains why we haven't. Then more solicitous empathizing: The American people have been through so much over the last few years, dealing with the worst recession, the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s, and they’ve done it with grace. And they’re working so hard to raise their families, and all they ask is that we work just as hard, here in this town, to make their lives a little easier. This from the guy who doesn't have a long-term deficit reduction plan 133 weeks in and just stepped from his helicopter after two days off in the Maryland mountains. No wonder the markets plunged 200 more points as he talked.

To: Big Black Swan who wrote (306479)	8/10/2011 9:35:52 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 306849

Obama under fire for giving Hurt Locker director access to Navy SEALs to make Bin Laden film By Daily Mail Reporter 10th August 2011 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024503/Navy-SEAL-Team-6-Congressman-Peter-King-demands-investigation-access-granted-film-Osama-bin-Laden-hunters.html Hollywood is looking to shed light on the top-secret commandos who killed the world’s top terrorist, and the White House is helping, one congressman says. The U.S.'s top brass is reportedly giving filmmakers the inside scoop to all things Navy SEAL for a movie about the squad who took out Osama bin Laden. Rep Peter King has called for a probe into the access allowed to filmmakers for a movie about SEAL Team 6 The New York Times reported this week that military officers were shocked when writer Mark Boal showed up at a CIA ceremony in honour of Team 6. Boal, along with director Kathryn Bigelow, wrote the Oscar-winning Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker, and is now scribing a Navy SEAL film. For the project, Mr Boal and Miss Bigelow reportedly have been granted unique access to the inner workings of the Pentagon. Rep. Peter King, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said letting Hollywood in on sensitive information like SEAL Team 6 may cost lives. In addition, the lawmaker contends that granting such privileges could tarnish the war on terror and other disastrous consequences. Mr King asked the inspectors general of the CIA and the Department of Defense to determine what consultations occurred in the White House about providing Hollywood with access to covert military operators and clandestine CIA officers. In a letter dated August 10, Mr King demanded an investigation into 'ongoing leaks of classified information regarding sensitive military operations.' Access granted: Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal won an Oscar last year when they collaborated on the Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker White House spokesman Jay Carney called Mr King’s claims 'ridiculous.' Mr Carney said: 'I would hope that as we face the continued threat from terrorism, the House Committee on Homeland Security would have more important topics to discuss than a movie.' Miss Bigelow threw her support behind then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, while he was campaigning for president. She told StarGlimpse.com: 'I hope and pray that U.S. forces will be withdrawn immediately from Iraq, and only one man is capable of doing that, that's Mr. Barack Obama.' Miss Bigelow’s film, which is still untitled, is due out October 12 – less than a month before the presidential election. Explore more: Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2024503/Navy-SEAL-Team-6-Congressman-Peter-King-demands-investigation-access-granted-film-Osama-bin-Laden-hunters.html#ixzz1UgCLDnWv