Last week Russian president Vladimir Putin wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times. He was critical of the US government for threatening a military strike against Syria. This week, long time US secretary John M responded. M has been a big supporter of US military action in Syria. But his opinion piece for the Russian web site P was more focused on Russia’s president. It was titled: Russians deserve better than Putin. He accused the Russian government of imprisoning opponents, rigging elections and controlling the country’s media. Yesterday president Putin said he was not aware of the article. But Russia did have some criticism for United Nation’s report about chemical weapons in Syria. Russian officials called the report biased, distorted, and built on insufficient information. Russia says the inspectors need to go back to Syria to finish their investigation. UN representatives say the reports stands for itself.

 

Back in the United States, there is a deadline looming in the nation’s capital and the possibility of part of the US government going dark. President Obama remembers the congress until the end of this month to work out a deal on the Federal Reserve budget. If they cannot reach an agreement over the next ten days, the government shutdown will kick in on October 1st. There are several issues involved here, like the country’s debt limit, and president Obama’s health care reform loan. We will look more closely at those as the story develops.

 

If the government shuts down, it won’t shut down completely. For example, functions that are considered as essential will still run. Things like air traffic control and disaster assistance. But many government offices likely close, museums and parks stop operating. Thousands of Federal employees could be sent home and not paid. It has happened before. There were two governments shut down in the mid 1990s. The longest one lasted 21 days. Is the US government heading for another? The clock is ticking.