Dear Commons Community,

The attack in Egypt and the killing of four Americans in Libya, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, has drawn strong commentary from a host of officials and pundits.

Hilary Clinton had the most measured and sensitive comments about the tragedies referring to the personal lives and contributions of the people killed.

“This is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world. We condemn in the strongest terms, this senseless act of violence and we send our prayers to the families, friends and colleagues of those we’ve lost.”

Mitt Romney cast aspersions at Barack Obama and his lack of leadership and called the president’s handling of the Libya and Egypt attacks “disgraceful.”

Sarah Palin, the mouthpiece of some conservative faction in America, blasted President Barack Obama, suggested that he lacked the “big stick” needed to be strong on foreign policy. “We already know that President Obama likes to ‘speak softly’ to our enemies. If he doesn’t have a ‘big stick’ to carry, maybe it’s time for him to grow one.”  Poor Sarah really has become a pathetic figure and does anything to try to get attention.

Regardless two senseless tragedies occurred yesterday on 9/11, the anniversary of another senseless tragedy, that serve to reminds us how complicated and dangerous our planet has become.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The New York Times has an article on Karen Lewis, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union.  It appears the Mayor Rahm Emanuel has met his match as far as hard ball negotiation are concerned. Here is an excerpt:

“When it comes to demanding, pushing and sparring, few people could even begin to compare with Rahm Emanuel, the famously foul-mouthed mayor whose no-holds-barred tactics once included sending a dead fish to someone whose work he found lacking.

Then came Karen Lewis.

In Ms. Lewis, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, which on Tuesday completed a second day on strike from public schools across this city, Mr. Emanuel may have met his match.

She is biting, pushy, witty, unwavering. He is biting, pushy, witty, unwavering. Like him, she appears to hold almost nothing back — a quality that in recent days has infuriated City Hall and thrilled tens of thousands of teachers. She has called Mr. Emanuel a “bully” and a “liar,” someone whose “billionaire friends” are driving his educational philosophy. And that was only last week.

In the view of some here, the toxic relationship between Mr. Emanuel and Ms. Lewis helped push the city’s teacher contract talks to the point of a crisis, forcing 350,000 students out of their classrooms in the nation’s third-largest school system not long after the new academic year began and showing no sign of quick resolution. In stubbornness, defiance and moxie, Ms. Lewis and Mr. Emanuel are, some here say, equals in what now looks like a toe-to-toe fight.

“The only way to beat a bully,” Ms. Lewis said to a sea of teachers at a rally down the block from Mr. Emanuel’s office days before the strike was called, “is to stand up to a bully!”

Closed-door talks over a new teachers’ contract were expected to continue on Wednesday, but there were growing signs that the strike may linger.”

Well worth the read!!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The Huffington Post is reporting that Scott Pelley’s 60 Minutes  interview with former Navy SEAL Mark Owen drew huge ratings, the network announced on Tuesday.   Owen penned the book No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden. I watched the interview and it was riveting as Owen discussed step by step the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound.  CBS also did an incredible job with models and simulations of the raid.

Sunday’s  60 Minutes  interview with Owen was rare in that it took up the entire hour of the show. A total of 12.32 million viewers tuned in, making the program the most-watched, non-football program of the week. Compared to this time last year, “60 Minutes” ratings were up 52 percent in total viewers, and 55 percent in the coveted A 25-54 demographic.

Owen is not the Navy SEAL’s real name, as the book was published under a pseudonym. The CBS News production team called in some of Hollywood makeup artists to further conceal Owen’s true identity. His voice was also manipulated.  However, Owen’s real name has been leaked by several media outlets.  Fox News  revealed Owen to be Matt Bissonnette, 36, of Wrangell, Alaska.   Fox News also reported that:

“The tell-all book also has apparently upset a large population of former and current SEAL members who worry about releasing information that could compromise future missions. One Navy SEAL told Fox News, “How do we tell our guys to stay quiet when this guy won’t?” Other SEALs are expressing anger, with some going so far as to call him a “traitor.”

Tony