memeorandum: Obama steadfast on Syria strikes despite G20 opposition (Financial Times)

9:00 AM ET, September 7, 2013

Top Items:

Obama team thought Iran would not tolerate Bashar Assad's use of WMDs — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL BARACK OBAMA SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS BASHAR ASSAD — Iran is enduring economic sanctions designed to slow the country's nuclear weapons program, but President Obama's team thought …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Twitchy, US Department of State, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler

The White House:

Remarks by President Obama in a Press Conference at the G20 — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening. Let me begin by thanking President Putin and the people of St. Petersburg and the people of Russia for hosting this G20. This city has a long and storied history, including its heroic resistance …

Discussion: Power Line, New York Times, Techdirt, Hit & Run, White House.gov Blog, Politico, WorldViews, Reuters, Weekly Standard and The Hill

John Kerry / The Huffington Post:

A Yes Vote of Conscience for the World's Red Line — I'm sometimes asked how, as someone who testified 42 years ago against the Vietnam War in which I had fought, I could testify in favor of action to hold the Assad regime accountable today. — The answer is, I spoke my conscience in 1971 and I'm speaking my conscience now in 2013.

Discussion: Right Wing News, Mediaite and Business Insider

Financial Times:
Obama steadfast on Syria strikes despite G20 opposition

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Via Meadia

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times: Envoy Says Syria Inaction Would Give ‘Green Light to Outrages’

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:

Obama makes his case for action in Syria — President Obama outlined his case for military action in Syria in his weekly address Saturday ahead of a major speech he will deliver on Syria next week. — Obama said in the address that Syria is a serious threat to U.S. national security …

Discussion: CNN

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

House GOP says it will raise debt ceiling by mid-October — House Republicans will raise the nation's debt limit before a mid-October deadline, but demand major fiscal concessions in exchange, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Friday. — In a memo to GOP lawmakers …

John Fund / National Review:
House Might Not Vote on Obama's Syria Resolution

Discussion: The Hill, Outside the Beltway, ABC News and The Dish

Aaron Blake / The Fix:
Majority of House leaning ‘no’ on Syria resolution

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly and Capitol Report

Annalyn Kurtz / CNNMoney.com:

August jobs report: Hiring continues as unemployment falls — Hiring continued at a slow pace in August, and the unemployment rate fell as more Americans dropped out of the labor force. — The U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs in August, the Department of Labor said Friday.

Discussion: McClatchy Washington Bureau, Reuters, Independent Journal Review, The Gateway Pundit and Firedoglake

Bill McBride / Calculated Risk:
Employment Report Comments (more graphs)

Discussion: Brookings Institute, Hot Air, Independent Journal Review, Free exchange, Business Insider and Balloon Juice

James Pethokoukis / AEIdeas:
Let's face it: The US job market is dead in the water and not getting better

Discussion: Yahoo! News, National Review, Wonkblog and White House.gov Blog

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed Draws Scrutiny Over Writer's Ties To Syrian Rebel Advocacy Group — NEW YORK — A Wall Street Journal op-ed cited this week by both Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has drawn scrutiny for not disclosing writer Elizabeth O'Bagy's ties to a Syrian rebel advocacy group.

Discussion: Mondoweiss, understandingwar.org, FP Passport, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Wintery Knight, Hullabaloo, Guardian, The Dish, WorldViews and Pressing Issues, more at Mediagazer »

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Can U.S. separate the good guys from jihadists in Syria?

Discussion: Hot Air and Dallas Morning News

John Ekdahl / BuzzFeed:

14 Principled Anti-War Celebrities We Fear May Have Been Kidnapped — Our government is yet again marching us towards a war of choice in the Middle East and our non-partisan, peace-loving celebrities have gone missing since late 2008. We fear the worst. — Sheryl Crow — LAST KNOWN PRE-2009 COMMUNICATION:

Discussion: Pressing Issues and Doug Ross

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Republican Congressman: If The House Had An Impeachment Vote It Would Pass — The impeachment drumbeat continues. — youtube.com — Texas Republican Rep. Bill Flores said at a town hall forum Thursday that if the House of Representatives had an impeachment vote, President Obama would be impeached.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jim Tankersley / Wonkblog:

Is pornography killing the economy? — The adult film industry appears to have made a disappointing August jobs report look even worse. — The report shows carnage in the movie business. It lost 22,000 jobs on the month, or nearly 6 percent of its total jobs: — Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Discussion: Economix, gopthedailydose.com, Capitol Report, Business Insider, Pirate's Cove and The Daily Caller

Neil Irwin / Wonkblog:
Ignore the headlines. This was a very bad jobs report.

Discussion: Real Time Economics, Sister Toldjah, Felix Salmon, msnbc.com, Slate, The Dish, Economix, The American Conservative, The Week, Outside the Beltway, New York Times and Power Line

Craig Timberg / Washington Post:

Google encrypts data amid backlash against NSA spying — Google is racing to encrypt the torrents of information that flow among its data centers around the world in a bid to thwart snooping by the NSA and the intelligence agencies of foreign governments, company officials said Friday.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Verge, Prairie Weather, Guardian and The Public Editor's Journal, more at Mediagazer »

Benny Johnson / BuzzFeed:

Pictures Of Children Fighting In Syria That You Have To See — The war of the young. — Children have been involved from the start of the Syrian revolution. — STRINGER / Reuters — A member of the Free Syrian Army holds up a child as he protests against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad

Howard Fineman / The Huffington Post:

John Kerry: Obama Can Bomb Assad Even If Congress Votes No — WASHINGTON — Even as he beseeches former colleagues in Congress to vote for President Barack Obama's plan to bomb Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear in an interview with The Huffington Post that he thinks the president …

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Spectacle Blog and Yahoo! News

Wall Street Journal:

Apple Plans to Ship Less-Expensive iPhone to China Mobile — Move Signals a Long-Awaited Deal Is In Place — Apple Inc. is preparing to ship iPhones to China Mobile Ltd., people familiar with the matter say, an arrangement that would significantly increase Apple's distribution in the world's biggest smartphone market.

Discussion: Deadline.com, The Verge and VentureBeat

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Snowden Disclosures Finally Hit 12 on a Scale of 1 to 10 — A few days ago, NBC News quoted a former intelligence official about the fallout from Edward Snowden's NSA leaks. “The damage, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a 12,” he said. — At the time, I thought it was an odd thing to say.

Discussion: A Few Thoughts …, USA Today, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Crooks and Liars, Via Meadia, American Spectator and Corrente, more at Mediagazer »

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

EXCUSE MICHAEL GERSON WHILE HE WHIPS THIS OUT — Michael Gerson made his bones by strategically placing verbs and things in the sentences for the least literate president in the history of the Republic. Famously, Gerson was the Christian conscience of the administration that brought …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

IRS admits to pricey Donald Trump parody — The video, which spoofs the Donald Trump reality show “The Apprentice,” shows IRS officials discussing ways to cut training costs for its Small Business/Self-Employed division, which was hosting the conference. The House Ways and Means Committee released the video Friday.

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite and CNN