AUSTRALIA SPIES ON INDONESIAN LEADERS; IT GETS PERSONAL FOR PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO

LISTEN UP, AUSTRALIA! 

Indonesian President 

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono 

BUT NOT TO MY WIFE'S PHONE 

First Lady Ani Yudhoyono 

(Kristiani Herawati) 

OR MINE, OR MY GOVERNMENT'S 

Indonesian-Australian cooperation suspended 

Some of the reporting here and here and here 

ANALYSIS here 

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS ARE DEVASTATED BY TYPHOON HAIYUAN; PRESIDENT AQUINO IS TEMPTED "TO DESPAIR"

THE TOLL KEEPS RISING 

PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT 

BENIGNO S. AQUINO III 

bows his head as leaders and their spouses gather for a group photograph at the APEC Summit on Bali, Indonesia, October 2013  

Today it is reported that nearly four thousand people were killed when Typhoon Haiyan hit the central Philippines, and that the estimate of people "displaced by the catastrophe" was now up to  four million. 

ART IN RELIGION (BALI, INDONESIA)

UNFINISHED 

RELIGIOUS OBJECTS 

BY THE ROADSIDE 

WORK IN PROGRESS 

BALI, INDONESIA 

SHOPPING FOR A CELL PHONE ON BALI

CELL PHONE SHOPPING 

FAMILY CHECKS OUT 

A ROADSIDE STALL 

BALI, INDONESIA 

BECAUSE WE CAN? OBAMA AND THE NSA

SPYING FOR 

OBAMA? 

STATUE OF THE BOY 

"BARRY" BARACK OBAMA 

JAKARTA, INDONESIA 

On his left hand a butterfly; above his head, a surveillance camera.   

To be continued 

CAR CRASH BELOW MAO'S PORTRAIT FACING TIANANMEN SQUARE, BEIJING

VEHICLE CRASHES THROUGH 

SECURITY IN FRONT OF 

THE FORBIDDEN CITY; 

THERE ARE CASUALTIES 

TIANANMEN SQUARE AND THE FORBIDDEN CITY 

AT NIGHT, DRESSED UP FOR THE 18TH CONGRESS 

OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA 

BEIJING, October 2012 

Early reporting of the incident here and here; 

a photograph of the vehicle on fire can be found here 

INDONESIA HANDS OVER APEC HOSTING TO CHINA

THE CHANGING OF 

THE GUARD OF APEC 

SYMBOLIZING THE HANDOVER FROM 

INDONESIA AS HOST (2013) 

TO CHINA (2014) 

From the Bali APEC Gala 
Depicted: Presidents Xi Jinping of China (l.) and 
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia (center) 

Barong (r.); Rangda (lower right) 

More on the Bali APEC here  
More on Indonesia here 

CHINA AT THE BALI APEC SUMMIT

BALI WELCOMING 

FOR CHI NA 

CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING 

AND HIS WIFE PENG LIYUAN 

ARE WELCOMED TO THE BALI 

2013 APEC SUMMIT GALA 

With the U.S. President Barack Obama a no-show, Chinese President Xi Jinping is center stage at the 2013 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. 

LECH WAŁĘSA TURNS SEVENTY

LECH WAŁĘSA 

b. September 9, 1943 

THE FUTURE PRESIDENT 

OF POLAND (1990-1995) 

AS LEADER OF SOLIDARITY 

Plotting Strategy 

Warsaw, Summer 1981 

Imprisoned under Martial Law, December 1981 

1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner 

Now the subject of a new film by Andrzej Wajda, "Wałęsa: Man of Hope," meant to re-burnish Walesa's name and to introduce him to a new, younger audience (see here and here).  

MICHAEL BARONE TURNS SIXTY-NINE

MICHAEL BARONE 

b. September 19, 1944 

THE ORIGINAL AUTHORS OF 
THE ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS 
(l. to r.)  GRANT UJIFUSA, 
DOUGLAS MATTHEWS, 
MICHAEL BARONE 

Published in WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY, March 14, 1972, p. 14 

One upon a time Michael Barone worked for George McGovern; today he is a commentator for various conservative outlets; two of the relevant websites are here (with links to some of his columns) and here (with a contemporary photograph). 

LARRY SUMMERS GIVES UP ON THE FED

LAWRENCE SUMMERS 

DECLINES -- 

BEFORE HE IS 

NOMINATED 

LARRY SUMMERS 
SENDS A LETTER TO 
PRESIDENT OBAMA ... 

... declining to be nominated to chair the Federal Reserve Board. 

President Obama accepted. 

Will the President now nominate "Mr. Yellen" (as he called Janet Yellen, the vice-chair of the Fed, in a news conference)? 

More Summers here and here  

PUTIN ADDRESSES AMERICA

VLADIMIR PUTIN 

HOLDS FORTH 

ON SYRIA -- AND 
ON AMERICA 

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN CENTER STAGE AT THE 2012 APEC SUMMIT IN VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA; PRESIDENT OBAMA WAS A NO-SHOW 

Today Vladimir Putin made a big splash with an op-ed piece in the New York Times entitled "A Plea for Caution from Russia." 

Some quotations that speak for themselves, if perhaps not always in the way the author intended: 

"We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law." 

"It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States." 

"Millions around the world increasingly see America [or --] not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan 'you’re either with us or against us.'" 

"We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement." 

"My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust." 

"It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation." 

In three-and-a-half weeks Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama are both due to be attending another multilateral summit, this one on Bali, Indonesia, with nineteen other leaders of the Asia-Pacific (APEC) economies. The Russian and American presidents will have another opportunity to deal with Syria directly, and to try out their "growing trust." 

President Obama skipped last year's summit, held in Vladivostok, Russia (see above); President Putin had skipped Obama's first G-8 summit, held at Camp David supposedly for the Russian leader's convenience. Obama ostentatiously called off a Moscow meeting with Putin before the recent G-20 summit, and then ended up talking to him in St. Petersburg instead. Both of them have tossed rather un-presidential zingers at one another. 

Next? Watch this space. 

CHAIRMAN MAO GONE THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS TODAY

MAO ZEDONG 

December 26, 1893-September 9, 1976 

THE BODY MOVED HERE 

THE MAUSOLEUM 

at the southern end of Tiananmen Square 

THE ICONIC PORTRAIT HERE 

at the Gate of Heavenly Peace 

MEANWHILE

The debate goes on 

What is the balance on 

Mao's legacy? 

A recent take reviewed here  

GERALD R. FORD PARDONS RICHARD M. NIXON, THIRTY-NINE YEARS AGO TODAY; IS NOT ELECTED PRESIDENT

THE PARDON THAT KEPT 

RICHARD M. NIXON 

OUT OF PRISON 

AND 

GERALD R. FORD 

OUT OF AN ELECTED 

PRESIDENCY 

September 8, 1974 

Hear it here  

NOW THAT COLLEGE IS BACK IN SESSION AGAIN ... A LOOK BACK TO WHEN CO-ED LIVING WAS NEW

"THE NEW CAMPUS REBELS: 

WOMEN" 

SHARING A BATHROOM AT HARVARD 
Nearly Forty Years Ago 

Published in the December 10, 1973, 
issue of NEWSWEEK (p. 120) 

To be continued 

SEPTEMBER 2nd HAS BEEN A MEMORABLE DAY FOR GEORGE BUSH

SEVERAL SEPTEMBER 

SECONDS IN THE 

CALENDAR OF 

GEORGE BUSH'S LIFE 

Vice-President George Bush Photographed in 

His Old Executive Office Building Office 

Being Tough on Deregulation 

Published in the March 9, 1981, issue of BUSINESS WEEK (p. 64)   

"As one of his first official acts, President Reagan created a Presidential task force on regulatory relief and named Vice-President George Bush to head it." Key quote from the Vice-President: "We must get this country back to work." 

A few memorable September 2nd events in the life of George Bush, two from World War II, and one from the Cold War: 

September 2, 1944:  "Navy pilot George H.W. Bush was shot down by Japanese forces as he completed a bombing run over the Bonin Islands." (New York Times) 

September 2, 1945:  "On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri, ending World War II."  (New York Times) 

September 2, 1991: "The Bush administration officially recognized the three Baltic states [which had been part of the Soviet Union: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania] on September 2, 1991." (George Bush Library) [p.1] 

And then of course there is this September 2 in the life of the other George Bush: 

September 2, 2005: "President George W. Bush told Michael Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 'Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" during a tour of Hurricane Katrina damage in Alabama.'" (New York Times) 

ANN RICHARDS WOULD HAVE BEEN EIGHTY TODAY

ANN W. RICHARDS 

September 1, 1933-September 13, 2006 

DELIVERING THE FAMOUS KEYNOTE ADDRESS 

At the 1988 Democratic National Convention 

Atlanta, Georgia 

Here as Texas State Treasurer 

Later GOVERNOR of TEXAS (1991-1995) 

Defeated for re-election by GEORGE W. BUSH 

The transcript of the keynote address is here. 
The Houston Chronicle obituary is here; 
an appreciation by Molly Ivins is here. 

The late Governor is the subject of a current play, "Ann," here.  

SOLIDARITY-TO-BE WINS ITS STRIKE, THIRTY-THREE YEARS AGO

SOLIDARNOŚĆ 

IS BEING BORN 

GDANSK, POLAND 

August 30, 1980 

"LET POLAND BE POLAND" 

Solidarity Poster 

Summer 1981 

The story is here 

More Poland, here 

TIMOTHY JOHNSON -- "DR. TIM" -- IN THE EARLY DAYS IN BOSTON

"HOUSE CALL"

DR. TIMOTHY JOHNSON ANSWERS 
VIEWERS' HEALTH CARE QUESTIONS 
WITH THE AID OF "DIRTY HARRY" 
THE MANNEQUIN 
WCVB-TV, Boston, Massachusetts 

Published in NEWSWEEK 
October 8, 1973, p. 75 

A retrospective on Dr. Johnson's life and work here 

NIGHT AND THE COLORS OF THE RIVER

NIGHT LIGHTS 

AND NIGHT COLORS 

ON THE RIVER HAN 

CONRAD SEOUL HOTEL AND THE 

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CENTER (IFC) 

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA 

LOSS

MORE WAR COMING 

SHOES "TOO BIG TO FILL" 

WATCHING THAT FACE: BO XILAI SPEAKS UP IN COURT

FIRST DAY OF THE 

TRIAL OF FORMER 

CCP POLITBURO MEMBER 

BO XILAI 

August 22, 2013 

BO XILAI CHAIRING 
THE LIAONING PROVINCE DELEGATION 
TO THE 16TH PARTY CONGRESS
Beijing, November 2002 

Today was finally the first day of the deposed Politburo member's trial. When I wrote "Watch This Face" three years ago (here), was there anyone who could have imagined these developments? His political life gone, the prospect of legal retribution for "corruption" looming, towered over by two apparently especially chosen extra-tall guards, Bo Xilai, finally given a chance to speak at least semi-publicly (there are dispatches from the court but no live or total video), was indeed speaking up for himself and contesting the prosecution case -- not going softly into the history books -- if he could help it.

It is thought that there will likely be one more day of the trial, and that the outcome is not likely to be in doubt. 

Some background and ongoing coverage, including grab shots from the courtroom, can be found here and here and here and here.   

THE LAST DAY OF THE AUGUST 1991 SOVIET COUP

THE RUSSIA DELEGATION 

BRINGS MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 

HOME TO MOSCOW 

THE SOVIET DELEGATION 

IS ACED OUT 

Russia Vice-President ALEKSANDR RUTSKOI 
(center left, with dark hair and moustache) and 
 Russian Prime Minister IVAN SILAYEV 
(center right, with white hair) 
at the Congress of People's Deputies of 
the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic 
July 1991 

On Wednesday, August 21, 1991, a delegation of Russian leaders including Vice-President Aleksandr Rutskoi and Prime Minister Ivan Silayev flew to Foros in the Crimea, where Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was said to have been held against his will since Sunday, August 18th.  A delegation of Soviet leaders flew in a separate plane.  Gorbachev rejected them as implicated in the coup against him, and flew back to Moscow with the Russian delegation instead.  His arrival in the early hours of August 22nd definitively ended the coup, but Gorbachev was soon to find he had stepped back into a very different political world. 

More to come in  RUSSIA REDUX