Grumpy Editor

China cyberattacks issue 'resolved,' enforcement fuzzy

 

Grumpy Editor noted here last Monday that President Barack Obama planned to talk tough to China’s president in their Washington meeting regarding Chinese hackers stealing U.S. government and corporate data.

Obama, in accusing China of engaging in cybertheft activities, declared at a news conference:  “It has to stop.” 

With the Washington visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the hacking problem was “solved” on Friday when the White House trumpeted it secured a tentative commitment from the Chinese government to address the growing issue.

That set the White House press corps into action.

However, as The Wall Street Journal pointed out, “It was unclear how the agreement will be enforced or whether it will prompt change in a behavior that Chinese leaders have long denied.”

Then the Chinese president headed for New York to cap his week-long U.S. visit.

 

In case you missed these from your favorite media outlets…

“Don't cry for Boehner; his money-making options are manifold,” mentioned Fortune after House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) on Friday announced he would relinquish his gavel and resign from Congress at the end of next month.  Fortune cited Boehner “can tap the roughly $3.8 million he's stashed in his reelection funds to distribute to favored charities or Republican candidates. And federal law allows him to use the more than $1.1 million in his leadership political action committee …for mortgage payments, a boat purchase, or whatever”…Hillary Clinton, Democrat presidential candidate, declared she opposed the Keystone XL oil pipeline, terming it “a distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change”…Meanwhile. Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, said he doesn’t believe in climate change and steps being considered to fight it would “imperil the companies in our country.” Media are fixated too much on the issue, he added…Climate control by the government is becoming a hot topic, especially in California where GeoEngineering Watch lead researcher Dane Wigington said, “Climate engineering is the single greatest assault on the environment ever launched by humanity, without question”…Among the most overrated jobs of 2015:  broadcaster and public relations manager, according to CareerCast, Carlsbad, Calif...Triggered by worries about the global economy, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 87.2 this month from 91.9 in August. The third straight monthly drop left the index with its weakest reading since October, 2014.

 

A 10,000-square-foot Ferrari dealership at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip will close by year end.  It attracted folks interested in new and used Ferrari and Maserati vehicles with six-figure price tags --- and those willing to pay a $10 entry fee just to tour the showroom.

Media ignore ID of 'Muslim quizzer' at N.H. Trump event

 

Media chatter continued over the weekend on the “Obama Muslim question” stemming from a first question at a Donald Trump town hall meeting Thursday in Rochester, N.H.

With many media members at that gathering, plus heavy broadcast and print discussion for four days now, Grumpy Editor is amazed that no journalist sought to contact the questioner (who, surprisingly, remains unidentified, along with political affiliation) and is labeled by some media (without confirmation) as a Trump supporter.

The voice of the questioner projected well, sounding like he had a broadcasting background.

While some media, and a number of politicians, wrongly link the Muslim identification to Trump, he had nothing to do with it.  Muslin simply was not uttered by the front runner for the Republican nomination.

Here’s what the questioner said and Trump’s response:

MYSTERY MAN: “We have a problem in this country.  It’s called Muslims. We know our current president is one. We know he’s not even an American.  We have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That’s my question.  When can we get rid of them?”

TRUMP:  “We’re going to be looking at a lot of different things.  A lot of people are saying that and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there. We’re going to be looking at that and plenty of other things.”

That exchange kicked off a barrage of anti-Trump coverage as most media cried that Trump did not correct the audience member.

Among heavy print and broadcast coverage examples:

A lingering on-screen headline on Friday night’s “Kelly File” with Megyn Kelly on the Fox News Channel read: Firestorm over exchange at Trump event

Headline on a U.S. News &World Report story on the web:  Trump Supporter Calls Obama a Muslim

The headline at CNN’s website proclaimed:  Trump doesn't challenge anti-Muslim questioner at event

Sunday's This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC:  Trump Faces New Problem

On Saturday, Trump defended himself for not correcting the audience member, declaring: “Am I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him?  I don't think so.  If someone made a nasty or controversial statement about me to the president, do you really think he would come to my rescue? No chance.”

Also interesting:  Two days before the New Hampshire town hall, Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin wrote  Trump “has proven to be unlike any other candidate in modern American politics. Top strategists for Trump’s rivals and some corporate and conservative interests are working with opposition researchers, messaging experts and focus-group gurus to find some plausible scheme to end what has already become an enduring nightmare for much of the Republican establishment: Donald Trump, Front-Runner.” 

In case you missed these…

A report from Washington said President Barack Obama planned to talk tough to China’s president in their meeting this week regarding hackers in the communist country stealing U.S. government and corporate data…Feeling pinched --- or richer?  The Census Bureau said U.S. median household income of $53,657 last year was 6.5 percent below the 2007 median of $57,357 --- before the most recent recession.  In contrast, a Federal Reserve report said wealth of American households reached a new peak in the second quarter, boosted by real estate values…Getting minimum coverage in U.S. media:  Taliban insurgents blasted their way into a maximum-security prison in eastern Afghanistan last week, allowing 355 prisoners to escape.  The question:  Could some of these escaped hard-core, anti-U.S. tough guys blend in with refugees or mix in with others crossing the southern U.S. border?...While Washington was focusing on Iran and its nuclear development, North Korea declared its main nuclear complex was operating, its  nuclear weapons arsenal has improved in “quality and quantity” ---  and threatened to use those weapons “any time” against the U.S…More trimming at a daily newspaper.  Restructuring at the Times-Picayune, New Orleans, will result in an overall reduction of 28 full-time and nine part-time newsroom staffers.

 

Among some of the goofy questions during last week’s GOP presidential debate on CNN, moderator Jake Tapper asked the candidates what code name they'd like the Secret Service to use in identifying them.

 

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Confusion reigns as Fed interest rate decision nears

 

Grumpy Editor notes confusion prevails as financial eyes focus on Thursday’s Federal Reserve policy meeting that will determine whether or not there will be an interest rate rise from zero to 0.25 percent.

Chatter on the slim increase has been going on for months.  Constant mentions of a possible boost have sent the stock market down, while mentions of a delay in the raise have sent the market up.

Consider these contrasting headlines in print over the weekend:

Fed Expected to Order Interest Rate Increase was over a Reuters report.  (“A Reuters poll of 72 economists showed a slight majority expect an interest rate rise”…at this week’s policy meeting.

Economists See Fed Waiting on Rate Hike topped a Wall Street Journal story.  (It cited, “most private economists think the Federal Reserve will keep short-term interest rates near zero this coming week.’)

If there is no upward interest rate move announced following Thursday’s meeting, then look for continued market gyrations leading up to the Fed meeting in October, then if no action, December.

Among operations rocking and rolling with rate discussions in recent months were publicly-owned real estate investment trusts (REITs), which own or finance income-producing real estate such as office buildings, shopping malls and medical facilities.

The Wall Street Journal last week pointed out that category was “lagging behind the broader market this year amid concerns that REIT stocks will suffer if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.”

Confusion there, too.

The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) website noted, “the historical record reveals that share prices of listed equity REITs have more often increased than decreased during periods of rising interest rates.”

 

In case you missed these…

There’s that “domesticated” word again, regarding inflation.  An Associated Press economics writer on Friday wrote:  “The prices charged by U.S. manufacturers, farmers and other producers were unchanged in August, the latest evidence that inflation is tame.”

Weak data from China triggers U.S. stock market rise.  Head-scratching routine as with last Tuesday’s market:  U.S. stocks opened sharply higher after weak economic data out of China bolstered hopes of more stimulus measures from the Chinese government.

Problems continue with sloppy VA attention to veterans.  Associated Press reported nearly 900,000 military veterans have officially pending applications for health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, but "serious" problems with enrollment data make it impossible to determine how many veterans were actively seeking VA health care.  Officials said some applicants may have died years ago.

What most media missed:  While President Barack Obama was emphasizing climate change during his recent Alaska visit, a U.S. submarine was having difficulty poking through 30 feet of Arctic ice.

More media folks clear out desks.  Bloomberg’s news division began September by cutting up to 90 editorial jobs.  In other trimming action, Tribune Publishing Co., unexpectedly axed Los Angeles Times publisher Austin Beutner and replaced him with Tim Ryan, publisher of the Baltimore Sun, also owned by Chicago-based Tribune.  Insiders expected another round of buyout offers to veteran Times newsroom staffers.

Incomplete details:  A CBS radio top-of-the-hour news item on Friday merely mentioned a shooting at a Downey, Calif., restaurant, without disclosing the name of the eatery or even the type of food --- and what led up to the episode.  Turns out a man carjacked a sedan at gunpoint, led police on a high-speed chase through several Los Angeles County cities before he holed up in a Chris & Pitts BBQ restaurant where he was killed by sheriff’s deputies when he approached customers with a gun.

 

Young journalist produces monthly newspaper ---

Eight-year-old Hilde Lysiak, for nine months now, writes, takes photos and delivers the four-page Orange Street News to more than 50 subscribers (at $2 a year) in her community of Selinsgrove, Pa.

She told the New York Daily News, “I really like getting to the truth and reporting it.”

 

Time for Grumpy Editor to get behind the charcoal grill

 

Grumpy Editor is taking this Monday --- Labor Day --- off.