What happened this week:
1) In China, Bo Xilai’s wife was given the death penalty for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood (she will likely serve a life sentence).
2) In Russia, on same day the government announced harsh two-year jail sentence for the punk band Pussy Riot, Russia finally joined the World Trade Organization after 19-years of negotiations. According to The Economist, Russian GDP is expected to get a 3% boost over the long term because of increased foreign trade.
3) Neil Armstrong, the first man on moon, died at 82 following complications from heart-bypass surgery. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Stepping onto the moon’s unknown surface, he said, “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
4) Mitt Romney announced his plans for energy independence by 2020. They include more drilling for oil and gas on federal land, more rigs off Virginia and the Carolinas, and finally approving the Keystone XL pipeline. Read Ed Hancox’ reaction here.
Republican National Convention postponed – The Tampa Bay Time reports, "ISAAC INTRUDES. DAY 1 CANCELED: GOP scrambles to rearrange rest of convention's lineup. Expect driving rains and high winds beginning late tonight. RNC set to party, wait out the storm."
RNC: What to watch for this week:
- Tuesday: Ann Romney will give her first prime-time speech for a national audience. Given the controversy with the GOP’s war on women, how will she fare? Chris Christie, the popular governor from NJ, will give the keynote. Rick Santorum will also speak, but what will he talk about?
- Wednesday: Paul Ryan and Condoleezza Rice will headline the evening.
- Thursday: Marco Rubio will introduce Mitt Romney for his big keynote address. Will he inspire and win over the American people?
- Rescheduled: Jeb Bush, who recently said “[The GOP’s] demographics are changing, and we have to change not necessarily our core beliefs but ... the tone of our message and the message and the intensity of it, for sure,” was scheduled to speak on Monday.
- Notably missing: Ron Paul who in an interview with the NYT said, “I don't fully endorse [Romney] for president."
Tune-in every night for live coverage and analysis of the convention from our rockstar team of Pundits.
Top PolicyMic stories – 11 Reasons Why the Obama Presidency is Like Facebook's Failed IPO (Sal Bommarito) – Barack Hussein Obama (BHO) is the Facebook (FB) president.
Lance Armstrong Ends Witch Hunt by Giving Up on USADA Doping Allegations (Sam Wollner) – Armstrong has bowed out in a way that will allow him to maintain his reputation, endorsements, and friendships.
An Open Letter to Republican Voters: This is What You Are Voting For in Election 2012 (Daniel Andrews) – It's never too late to repent.
Neil Armstrong Dead: One Last Step For a Man, One Giant Loss For Humankind(Cory Suter) – Neil Armstrong, the popular American Astronaut who first landed the Apollo spacecraft on the moon, died on Saturday.
War With Iran Will Be Imminent, Unless America Learns to Understand the Islamic Republic (Georgi Ivanov) – In trying to understand Iranian and Syrian politics, worldviews and political culture are the buzzwords, not irrational rationalism and war-mongering propaganda.
Progressive bias at NYT? NYT Public Editor Brisbane's farewell column, “Across the paper's many departments, though, so many share a kind of political and cultural progressivism - for lack of a better term - that this worldview virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times.” Jill Abramson’s reaction interview.
What we’re reading – Are you a hero or a bystander? (WSJ); All nine bystanders wounded in Empire State shooting hit by police (Reuters); AP interview transcript with President Obama (AP); Romney adopts harder message for last stretch (NYT); Anderson Cooper contentious interview with Wasserman Schultz (CNN); Mitt Romney: What I learned at Bain Capital (WSJ); China confronts mounting piles of unsold goods (NYT).
