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PBC News & Comment: Good News 2-fer: Larry Summers Pulls Out, Obama Didn’t Attack Syria

Your humble host returns from week in Brazil to good news:  Summers withdraws, Obama tries diplomacy, but appears tone-deaf….Click here for GoDaddy deal that benefits the PBC podcast!

Obama has ignored his base and created opportunities for GOP attacks on both the Summers nomination to run the Federal Reserve and his threat to attack Syria

–his speech on the 5-year mark of the Wall Street swindle and bailout was overshadowed by the shooting at the Navy Yard in southeast DC, where a shooter and 12 victims are reported dead

–while PBC is pleased that while the US did not attack, it will not be easy to remove Syria’s chemical arsenal safely while a civil war rages, and it is incoherent to let the war continue if we really care about humans in the crossfire

–Vlad Putin published an op-ed that was mostly accurate about the US blunders on Syria, and rich with references to the pope and God

–ObamaCo got FISA court to restore collection on millions of innocent Americans in 2011, and Washington Post can’t call a lie a, um, lie

–Homeland Security uses selective border searches of electronic devices to harrass and intimidate activists and journalists, like David House, who was a fundraiser for Chelsea Manning

–in New York mayor’s race that elected DiBlasio, identity politics were trumped in major ways, and Wiener exited with a Nixon moment, proving that he’s a Dick

–Colorado floods are devastating, as is climate change denial

–PBC introduces you to Brazilian pop star Tim Maia and his song Bom Senso, with thanks to Alan Eliezer and Rodrigo Filla for their intensive seminar on Brazilian music during our road trips last week.  Filla is quite talented himself, guitarist with Bide ou Balde, an indy band with a big following; he’s also a great chef.   I spent a week with the the team at NetRadio Brasil, and am very impressed with founder Alberto Eliezer and his crack team at their studio complex in Franca. We visited the Central University of Franca to learn about the media labs under the inspiration of Prof. Ricardo Fadul.  In Sao Paolo, I was hosted by Pepe Escobar’s charming and talented wife, Maria Cecilia Marra and by Mario Pini, a recovering adman.  And I got to meet the world’s most down-to-earth CEO, Luiza Helena Trajano, who runs the retail giant Magazine Luiza with a very progressive collaboration with her employees and uses NetRadio’s innovative radio services.  The food was fabulous, topped by the nonstop waves of incredible sushi at Taiko’s in Franca.  Muito obrigado!