Skimm for October 15th Quote of the day: “Should have been mine” — Syria’s President Assad, whose country is fighting a civil war, on the Nobel Peace Prize. He was half kidding. Instead, the prize went to the international watchdog group currently destroying his regime’s chemical stockpile. Good one, Bashar. Get er done THE STORY: No deal yet. But we’re closer. In case you forgot, the government is still shut down and Congress still needs to raise the debt limit. YAWN. WHAT’S THE LATEST? Two weeks after the government closed down because Congress couldn’t figure out a way to fund it (House Republicans wanted to nix Obamacare from a spending bill, Dems said no), the Democrat-led Senate’s top guns said they were close to a deal to reopen that government and keep us out of fiscal disaster by raising the debt limit. WHAT’S THE DEAL? Don’t know yet. But it will probably raise the debt limit until February, reopen and fund the government until mid-January, and discuss bigger budget issues. Any deal would still have to be OK’d by the Republican-led House (where it could get complicated) and the president. BUT NO MORE FIGHTING IF THIS PASSES?! Ha, no. January could be a big month for arguing, and not just over gym memberships. The deal will probably include talk about replacing automatic, deep spending cuts known as the sequester. DIDN’T WE JUST HAVE THOSE? Yes. The first round of cuts hit in March, thanks to a deal from 2011 and Congress’s ultimate failure to agree on cutting over a trillion dollars. This next round of cuts will kick in right as the government’s funding ends, if the deal goes through. Shockingly, Democrats and Republicans have different opinions on these spending cuts. So PS there’s ANOTHER fight coming. WHAT DOES THE PRESIDENT THINK? Obama said if we don’t start making some actual progress, we could default. On Thursday, the Treasury says the country will hit its debt limit — the end of its borrowing ability — and will go down a path of not being able to pay its bills. Markets will not like this. At all. theSKIMM: Similar political tantrums in 2011 led to a downgrade of the US’s credit rating. Time is no one’s friend but it certainly doesn’t like the government. REPEAT AFTER ME… What to say when a client pitches you… Show me what you got. Iran is set to present a proposal over its controversial nuclear program to six world powers, including the US, in Geneva today. Going into the meeting, both sides sounded very stubborn about their demands, yet cautiously optimistic that progress would be made — either that or in comparison to the fight in DC, this seems like a piece of cake. Ever since Iran got a new president in June, the country has been singing a different, friendlier tune. Iran is set to calm the West’s fears that it’s trying to build a nuclear weapon, while also trying to convince all that its program is for peaceful purposes. Meanwhile, Iran hopes the international community will ease up on harsh economic sanctions that have crippled the country. One issue sure to come up is Iran’s stance on having enriched uranium at levels close to building a weapon. To be continued… What to say when your old intern joins the exec team… The tables have turned. Hollywood studios are now officially going to Netflix and not cable TV to launch new series. The ‘Flix has just scored a deal for a new series with Sony Pictures TV, making Sony the first major Hollywood studio to produce a show for our midnight marathon fix. The new psychological thriller will join “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black” under Original Programming that will annoy network TV.’ Meanwhile, Netflix has been chatting with cable providers about ways to bring its streaming service straight to your cable boxes. What to say when you hear someone bragging about a morning workout… You don’t get a prize. And neither does any African leader. A prestigious prize, designed to reward democratically elected leaders of African countries for doing a good job and stepping down when they were supposed to, has been given to no one. For the fourth time in five years. The foundation responsible for the cash-prize award, endowed by Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim, said it couldn’t find a leader of excellence to give it to this year. Which is sad, because it’s not like Africa is exactly Smallville. Many are starting to wonder if it’s the guidelines or Africa’s leaders that are the problem. What to say when someone’s sitting in your spot at the coffee shop… This is my spot, not yours. Welcome to Russia, where change is not always welcome. Russian police have responded to anti-migrant protests by arresting a lot of migrants. At issue: many in Moscow are uneasy about the influx of migrants from Russia’s predominately Muslim Caucasus (you heard about this region after the Tsarnaev brothers) and ex Soviet states in Central Asia. Things heated up after a Russian man was stabbed last week and many believe one of the migrants is responsible. A rally over the weekend led to major clashes with police, as protesters ransacked a shopping center and warehouse where many migrants work. So yesterday, in an effort to prevent further fighting, police raided the same warehouse and took 1,200 into custody to check their migration statuses. The struggle between nationalists and migrants is nothing new, but many are worried that things could get a lot worse. What to say when you’re tempted to count FB likes… No one should compare themselves to “The Walking Dead,” which just shattered this season’s ratings records with 16.1 million viewers. MILLION. To watch zombies. The end.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 10:22:37 +0000
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