Backs Obama Bloomberg

 Backs Obama Bloomberg

MR. BLOOMBERG, A POLITICAL INDEPENDENT IN HIS THIRD TERM LEADING NEW YORK CITY, HAS BEEN SHARPLY CRITICAL OF MR. OBAMA, A DEMOCRAT, AND MITT ROMNEY, THE PRESIDENT’S REPUBLICAN RIVAL, SAYING THAT BOTH MEN HAD FAILED TO CANDIDLY CONFRONT THE PROBLEMS AFFLICTING THE NATION. BUT HE SAID HE HAD DECIDED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS THAT MR. OBAMA WAS THE BETTER CANDIDATE TO TACKLE THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE THAT HE BELIEVES MIGHT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE VIOLENT STORM, WHICH TOOK THE LIVES OF AT LEAST 38 NEW YORKERS AND CAUSED BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE.

“THE DEVASTATION THAT HURRICANE SANDY BROUGHT TO NEW YORK CITY AND MUCH OF THE NORTHEAST — IN LOST LIVES, LOST HOMES AND LOST BUSINESS — BROUGHT THE STAKES OF NEXT TUESDAY’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION INTO SHARP RELIEF,” MR. BLOOMBERG WROTE IN AN EDITORIAL FOR BLOOMBERG VIEW.

“OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING,” HE WROTE. “AND WHILE THE INCREASE IN EXTREME WEATHER WE HAVE EXPERIENCED IN NEW YORK CITY AND AROUND THE WORLD MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE RESULT OF IT, THE RISK THAT IT MAY BE — GIVEN THE DEVASTATION IT IS WREAKING — SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO COMPEL ALL ELECTED LEADERS TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION.”

MR. BLOOMBERG’S ENDORSEMENT IS ANOTHER INDICATION THAT HURRICANE SANDY HAS INFLUENCED THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. THE STORM AND THE DESTRUCTION IT LEFT IN ITS WAKE HAVE DOMINATED NEWS COVERAGE, TRANSFIXING THE NATION AND PROMPTING THE CANDIDATES TO HALT THEIR CAMPAIGNING BRIEFLY.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT IS ALSO THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF STEPS MR. BLOOMBERG HAS TAKEN IN A BID TO ASSERT HIS INFLUENCE NATIONALLY AS HIS FINAL TERM AS MAYOR ENTERS ITS TWILIGHT — AND AFTER HE APPEARS TO HAVE ABANDONED HIS OWN HOPES OF ONE DAY BECOMING PRESIDENT.

LAST MONTH, THE MAYOR SAID THAT HE WAS CREATING HIS OWN “SUPER PAC” TO SUPPORT CANDIDATES FROM EITHER PARTY, AS WELL AS INDEPENDENTS, WHO HE BELIEVES ARE DEVOTED TO HIS BRAND OF NONIDEOLOGICAL PROBLEM SOLVING, AND HE HAS INCREASINGLY USED HIS PERSONAL WEALTH AND THE BULLY PULPIT OF HIS OFFICE IN AN EFFORT TO PERSUADE ELECTED OFFICIALS TO SUPPORT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, GUN CONTROL AND EDUCATION REFORM.

THE IMPACT OF MR. BLOOMBERG’S ENDORSEMENT IS UNCLEAR; HIS CITY AND HIS STATE ARE OVERWHELMINGLY DEMOCRATIC, AND ALTHOUGH HE IS A WELL-KNOWN AND LONG-SERVING PUBLIC OFFICIAL WHO FREQUENTLY APPEARS IN THE NATIONAL MEDIA, HIS INFLUENCE IS DIFFICULT TO MEASURE: AN ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL CONDUCTED IN DECEMBER FOUND 30 PERCENT OF AMERICANS HAD A FAVORABLE VIEW OF MR. BLOOMBERG, 26 PERCENT HAD AN UNFAVORABLE VIEW, AND MANY — 44 PERCENT — HAD NO OPINION OF HIM ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

BOTH THE OBAMA AND ROMNEY CAMPAIGNS HAD AGGRESSIVELY SOUGHT THE MAYOR’S ENDORSEMENT, IN LARGE PART BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED HE COULD INFLUENCE INDEPENDENT VOTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY. MR. BLOOMBERG HAD RECENTLY SIGNALED HE WOULD NOT MAKE AN ENDORSEMENT, TELLING REPORTERS SEVERAL WEEKS AGO THAT HE HAD DECIDED WHOM HE WOULD VOTE FOR, BUT THAT HE WAS NOT SURE HE WOULD SHARE THAT DECISION WITH THE PUBLIC.

JOHN WEAVER, A PROMINENT REPUBLICAN POLITICAL STRATEGIST, SAID THE TIMING OF THE MAYOR’S ENDORSEMENT WAS NOTABLE.

“HIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS SANDWICHED BETWEEN THIS HORRIFIC CALAMITY AND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION,” HE NOTED. “SO THE TIMING COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE SIGNIFICANT FOR HIM AND HIS VIEWS.”

STEVE MCMAHON, A VETERAN DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, SAID HE BELIEVED THAT NOW THAT MR. BLOOMBERG HAD COME TO TERMS WITH NOT RUNNING FOR THE PRESIDENCY, HE WAS INTERESTED IN CEMENTING HIS POLITICAL LEGACY.

“MANY POLITICIANS REACH THE POINT IN THEIR CAREERS WHERE THEY HAVE BUILT UP CONSIDERABLE POLITICAL EQUITY AND THE ONLY QUESTION IS HOW THEY USE IT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE,” HE SAID. “IN ENDORSING PRESIDENT OBAMA, THE MAYOR SEEMS TO HAVE DECIDED TO USE SOME OF HIS EQUITY.”

EVEN BEFORE THE HURRICANE STRUCK, MR. BLOOMBERG HAD BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE. HE IS THE CHAIRMAN OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED C40, A NETWORK OF CITIES SEEKING TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS.

YET UNTIL THE STORM, CLIMATE CHANGE HAD NOT BEEN MUCH OF AN ISSUE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. THE TOPIC DID NOT COME UP DURING THE THREE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES, AND THE CANDIDATES HAVE NOT PROVIDED DETAILED LEGISLATIVE OR REGULATORY PLANS OUTLINING THEIR STANCES ON THE ISSUE.

SINCE THE HURRICANE, A NUMBER OF ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE COME FORWARD, CHIEFLY IN NEW YORK, TO SAY THAT THEY HAVE CONCLUDED THE PLANET IS UNDERGOING CLIMATE CHANGE, THAT HUGE STORMS ARE NO LONGER FREAK OCCURRENCES BUT EXPECTABLE REALITY, AND THAT PUBLIC POLICY MUST BEGIN TO PREPARE FOR THE IMPACT.

GOV. ANDREW M. CUOMO OF NEW YORK SAID TUESDAY, “ANYONE WHO SAYS THERE IS NOT A DRAMATIC CHANGE IN WEATHER PATTERNS I THINK IS DENYING REALITY.” SENATOR CHARLES E. SCHUMER, DEMOCRAT OF NEW YORK, SAID WEDNESDAY, “WE’RE GOING TO PAY A PRICE FOR THE CHANGE IN CLIMATE.” AND REPRESENTATIVE JERROLD NADLER, DEMOCRAT OF MANHATTAN, ECHOED THE CONSENSUS OF LOCAL OFFICIALS ON THURSDAY, SAYING SIMPLY, “THERE WILL BE A STORM OF THIS MAGNITUDE AGAIN.”

FLOODS POWER

MEGASTORM SANDY

MEGASTORM SANDY BATTERED THE US EAST COAST TUESDAY WITH FIERCE WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS, KILLING AT LEAST 13 PEOPLE AND CAUSING A POWER PLANT EXPLOSION, BESIDES UPROOTING TREES, POWER LINES AND PLUNGING MUCH OF MANHATTAN IN DARKNESS.SANDY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST STORMS EVER TO HIT THE US, BATTERED THE COASTLINE OF NEW JERSEY, WHERE A LARGE NUMBER OF INDIAN FAMILIES RESIDE, WITH 80 MPH WINDS, PUSHING SEAWATER UP BY AN UNPRECEDENTED 13-FEET IN NEW YORK CITY.FLOODS INUNDATED LARGE NUMBER OF AREAS IN NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY AND AN EXPLOSION AT A SUB-STATION ON THE EAST SIDE OF MANHATTAN'S MIDTOWN LEFT 500,000 PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER.EYEWITNESSES SAID A HUGE BALL OF BLUE LIGHT EXPLODED OVER MANHATTAN LAST NIGHT BELIEVED TO BE A POWERFUL BLAST AT CONSOLIDATED EDISON STATION.THE US NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) DECLARED AN ALERT AT THE OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN NEW JERSEY, WHICH IS CURRENTLY IN A REGULARLY SCHEDULED OUTAGE, AS THE WATER LEVEL REACHED THE MINIMUM HIGH LEVEL CRITERIA."WATER LEVEL IS RISING IN THE INTAKE STRUCTURE DUE TO A COMBINATION OF A RISING TIDE, WIND DIRECTION AND STORM SURGE. IT IS ANTICIPATED WATER LEVELS WILL BEGIN TO ABATE WITHIN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS," THE NRC SAID.ACCORDING TO NRC, NO PLANTS HAD TO SHUT DOWN AS A RESULT OF THE STORM ALTHOUGH SEVERAL PLANTS WERE ALREADY OUT OSERVICE FOR REGULARLY SCHEDULED REFUELLING AND MAINTENANCE OUTAGES. ALL PLANTS REMAIN IN A SAFE CONDITION, WITH EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE IF NEEDED AND NRC INSPECTORS ON-SITE.

THE STORM LEFT A TRAIL OF DEATH, AND THE TOLL IS EXPECTED TO MOUNT. TWO PEOPLE PERISHED IN MENDHAM, NEW JERSEY, WHEN A TREE STRUCK THEIR CAR, OFFICIALS SAID.IN NEW YORK STATE, AT LEAST SIX PERSONS WERE KILLED, INCLUDING A 30-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO DIED WHEN A TREE FELL ON HIS HOUSE. TWO PEOPLE DIED IN OTHER INCIDENTS.IT ALSO FLOODED GROUND-ZERO, THE SITE OF THE 9/11 TERROR ATTACKS HERE. THERE WAS ALSO REPORT OF DAMAGE TO FACADE OF A BUILDING IN MANHATTAN. TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN PENNSYLVANIA AND A WOMAN IN MARYLAND DIED AFTER HYDROPLANING INTO A TREE, OFFICIALS SAID.AUTHORITIES EVACUATED MORE THAN 200 PATIENTS AND STAFF OF A NEW YORK CITY HOSPITAL AFTER ITS BACKUP GENERATOR FAILED WHEN THE POWER WAS KNOCKED OUT BY THE SUPERSTORM.ACCORDING TO INITIAL ESTIMATES, THE DEVASTATION HAS RESULTED IN A LOSS OF USD 10-20 BILLION. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA CANCELLED HIS ELECTION CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE MID-WAY AND RUSHED BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO PERSONALLY MONITOR THE SITUATION.

"I AM NOT WORRIED AT THIS POINT ABOUT THE IMPACT ON THE ELECTION. I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPACT ON FAMILIES, AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPACT ON OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE IMPACT ON OUR ECONOMY AND ON TRANSPORTATION," OBAMA TOLD REPORTERS AT A WHITE HOUSE NEWS CONFERENCE SOON AFTER HE HELD A SITUATION ROOM MEETING ON THE HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS. "YOU KNOW, THE ELECTION WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF NEXT WEEK. RIGHT NOW, OUR NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SAVING LIVES, THAT OUR SEARCH-AND-RESCUE TEAMS ARE GOING TO BE IN PLACE, THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GET FOOD, THE WATER, THE SHELTER THAT THEY NEED IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, AND THAT WE RESPOND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TO GET THE ECONOMY BACK ON TRACK," OBAMA SAID. MITT ROMNEY, HIS REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER IN THE NOVEMBER 6 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, ALSO CANCELLED HIS CAMPAIGN.SANDY IS NO LONGER A HURRICANE BECAUSE IT'S DRAWING ENERGY FROM TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES AND NOT THE OCEAN, MAKING THE TRANSITION TO A SUPERSTORM THAT MAY PUSH A WALL OF WATER ASHORE IN THE NORTHEAST AND LASH THE EAST WITH WIND AND RAIN.

JOHN F KENNEDY AIRPORT IN NEW YORK CITY AND OTHER AIRPORTS IN THE REGION HAVE BEEN SHUT DOWN WITH MORE THAN 13,000 FLIGHTS BEING CANCELLED IN THE STORM AFFECTED AREAS.NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY REGISTERED A RECORD LEVEL OF RAINFALL AND SHUT DOWN MAJOR TRANSPORTATION ARTERIES.EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED IN CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA AND RHODE ISLAND. THE STORM AFFECTED MORE THAN 50 MILLION PEOPLE ALONG THE ENTIRE EAST COAST FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO NEW HAMPSHIRE.

SANDY STORM

80 MPH WINDS AND 13-FEET WATER LEVEL IN NEW YORK CITY

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND MITT ROMNEY SUSPENDED THEIR CAMPAIGNING WITH JUST OVER A WEEK TO GO BEFORE ELECTION DAY.AT THE WHITE HOUSE, OBAMA MADE A DIRECT APPEAL TO THOSE IN HARM’S WAY: “PLEASE LISTEN TO WHAT YOUR STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS ARE SAYING. WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO EVACUATE, YOU NEED TO EVACUATE. DON’T DELAY, DON’T PAUSE, DON’T QUESTION THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE BEING GIVEN, BECAUSE THIS IS A POWERFUL STORM.”THE STORM WASHED AWAY A SECTION OF THE ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK IN NEW JERSEY. WATER WAS SPLASHING OVER THE SEAWALLS AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF MANHATTAN.

NEW YORK MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG SAID LATE MONDAY THAT THE WORST OF THE RAIN HAD PASSED FOR THE CITY, AND THAT THE HIGH TIDE THAT SENT WATER SLOSHING INTO MANHATTAN FROM THREE SIDES WAS RECEDING.STILL, AUTHORITIES ALSO FEARED THE SURGE OF SEAWATER WOULD DAMAGE THE UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL AND COMMUNICATIONS LINES IN LOWER MANHATTAN THAT ARE VITAL TO THE NATION’S FINANCIAL CENTRE.WATER BEGAN POOLING IN RAIL YARDS AND ON HIGHWAYS NEAR THE HUDSON RIVER WATERFRONT ON MANHATTAN’S FAR WEST SIDE. ON COASTAL LONG ISLAND, FLOODWATERS SWAMPED CARS, DOWNED TREES AND PUT NEIGHBOURHOODS UNDER WATER AS BEACHFRONTS AND FISHING VILLAGES BORE THE BRUNT OF THE STORM. A POLICE CAR WAS LOST RESCUING 14 PEOPLE FROM THE POPULAR RESORT FIRE ISLAND.

IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN, RESCUE WORKERS FLOATED BRIGHT ORANGE RAFTS ON FLOODED STREETS, WHILE POLICE OFFICERS WITH LOUDSPEAKERS TOLD PEOPLE TO GO HOME.“NOW IT’S REALLY TURNING INTO SOMETHING,” SAID BRIAN DAMIANAKES, TAKING SHELTER IN A BANK VESTIBULE AND WATCHING A TRASH CAN BLOW DOWN THE STREET IN BATTERY PARK.A CONSTRUCTION CRANE ATOP A LUXURY HIGH-RISE IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN COLLAPSED IN HIGH WINDS AND DANGLED PRECARIOUSLY. RESIDENTS IN SURROUNDING BUILDINGS WERE ORDERED TO MOVE TO LOWER FLOORS AND THE STREETS BELOW WERE CLEARED, BUT THERE WERE NO IMMEDIATE REPORTS OF INJURIES.THE FACADE OF A FOUR-STORY MANHATTAN BUILDING IN THE CHELSEA NEIGHBOURHOOD CRUMBLED AND COLLAPSED SUDDENLY, LEAVING THE LIGHTS, COUCHES, CABINETS AND DESKS INSIDE VISIBLE FROM THE STREET. NO ONE WAS HURT, ALTHOUGH SOME OF THE FALLING DEBRIS HIT A CAR.

THE MAJOR AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGES CLOSED FOR THE DAY, THE FIRST UNPLANNED SHUTDOWN SINCE THE SEPT. 11 ATTACKS IN 2001. WALL STREET EXPECTED TO REMAIN CLOSED ON TUESDAY. THE UNITED NATIONS CANCELLED ALL MEETINGS AT ITS NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS.NOT ONLY WAS THE NEW YORK SUBWAY SHUT DOWN, BUT THE HOLLAND TUNNEL CONNECTING NEW YORK TO NEW JERSEY WAS CLOSED, AS WAS A TUNNEL BETWEEN BROOKLYN AND MANHATTAN. THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE, THE VERRAZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE AND SEVERAL OTHER SPANS WERE CLOSED BECAUSE OF HIGH WINDS.

AUTHORITIES HAD WARNED THAT NEW YORK CITY AND LONG ISLAND COULD GET THE WORST OF THE STORM SURGE: A 3-METRE ONSLAUGHT OF SEAWATER THAT COULD SWAMP LOWER MANHATTAN, FLOOD THE SUBWAYS AND DAMAGE THE UNDERGROUND NETWORK OF ELECTRICAL AND COMMUNICATIONS LINES THAT ARE VITAL TO THE NATION’S FINANCIAL CAPITAL.

SANDY STORM IN U.S......

STORM SLAMS INTO ATLANTIC COAST, SENDS SURGE    

           OF SEAWATER AGAINST NEW YORK

SUPERSTORM SANDY SLAMMED INTO THE NEW JERSEY COASTLINE AND HURLED A RECORD-BREAKING SURGE OF SEAWATER AT NEW YORK CITY ON MONDAY, ROARING ASHORE AND PUTTING THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ON HOLD A WEEK BEFORE ELECTION DAY. AT LEAST 10 DEATHS WERE BLAMED ON THE STORM.SANDY KNOCKED OUT POWER TO AT LEAST 5.2 MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS THE U.S. EAST, AND NEW YORK’S MAIN UTILITY SAID LARGE SECTIONS OF MANHATTAN HAD BEEN PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS BY THE STORM, WITH 250,000 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER AS WATER PRESSED INTO THE ISLAND FROM THREE SIDES, FLOODING RAIL YARDS, SUBWAY TRACKS, TUNNELS AND ROADS.JUST BEFORE ITS CENTRE REACHED LAND, THE STORM WAS STRIPPED OF HURRICANE STATUS, BUT THE DISTINCTION WAS PURELY TECHNICAL, BASED ON ITS SHAPE AND INTERNAL TEMPERATURE. IT STILL PACKED HURRICANE-FORCE WIND, AND FORECASTERS WERE CAREFUL TO SAY IT REMAINED EVERY BIT AS DANGEROUS TO THE 50 MILLION PEOPLE IN ITS PATH.

THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER ANNOUNCED AT 8 P.M. THAT SANDY HAD COME ASHORE NEAR ATLANTIC CITY. IT SMACKED THE BOARDED-UP BIG CITIES OF THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR, FROM WASHINGTON AND BALTIMORE TO PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK AND BOSTON, WITH STINGING RAIN AND GUSTS OF MORE THAN 135 KPH. THE SEA SURGED A RECORD OF NEARLY 4 METRES AT THE FOOT OF MANHATTAN, FLOODING THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT AND SUBWAY TUNNELS.THE 10 DEATHS WERE IN NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA AND CONNECTICUT. POLICE IN TORONTO SAID A WOMAN WAS KILLED BY A FALLING SIGN AS HIGH WINDS CLOSED IN ON CANADA’S LARGEST CITY.AS IT MADE ITS WAY TOWARD LAND, IT CONVERGED WITH A COLD-WEATHER SYSTEM THAT TURNED INTO A FEARSOME SUPERSTORM, A MONSTROUS HYBRID CONSISTING NOT ONLY OF RAIN AND HIGH WIND BUT OF SNOW. FORECASTERS WARNED OF 6-METRE WAVES BASHING INTO THE CHICAGO LAKEFRONT AND UP TO 0.9 METRES OF SNOW IN WEST VIRGINIA.STORM DAMAGE WAS PROJECTED AT $10 BILLION TO $20 BILLION, MEANING IT COULD PROVE TO BE ONE OF THE COSTLIEST NATURAL DISASTERS IN U.S. HISTORY.