Samsung's big idea, Upsetting the Apple cart

SEOUL: Just a few doors down from the Apple store in Sydney, where a long line of fans eagerly awaited the sale of the new iPhone 4S, another throng was gathering at a Samsung store. Samsung was ambushing Apple at a temporary "pop up" store offering its new Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone for just A$2 to the first 10 customers each day in the run-up to the rival iPhone launch. The guerrilla marketing tactic is the latest flare-up in the intensifying competition between two of the biggest players in the mobile devices industry that has also seen them battle in courts across the world over patents. What makes the battle so captivating is that the two companies are such contrasts. Apple is known for innovation and big ideas that create whole new markets. What Samsung lacks in ideas, it makes up for with a sleek production system that is lightning fast in bringing new products to market. Still, Samsung Electronics delayed the unveiling of its latest smartphone, the Nexus Prime, by a week to Wednesday as a sign of respect following the death of Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs -- Apple is Samsung's biggest customers for microprocessors. The Nexus Prime has been much anticipated because it is based on the latest version of Google's Android operating system, named "Ice Cream Sandwich" after previous versions also named after foods, such as Gingerbread and Honeycomb. But the war for smartphone dominance is one Samsung appears to be winning for now, just. Third-quarter figures are expected to show it has overtaken Apple as the world's biggest smartphone vendor in terms of units sold. Apple, the world's largest technology company with a market value of $391 billion, is counter-punching hard as the holiday sales season approaches. It is expected to present a positive short-term picture -- sparked by roaring sales of its iPhone and iPad -- when it reports results for the July-September period on Tuesday. The company moved 4 million iPhone 4S units in three days -- more than double its predecessor -- despite lukewarm reviews. "The quarter we are focusing on is the holiday quarter," said Channing Smith, co-manager of the Capital Advisors Growth Fund, which owns Apple shares. "We expect Apple to absolutely blow the doors off during Christmas." The battle between Samsung and Apple is being waged not just in malls and stalls across the world, but in courtrooms as well. On the same day Samsung was luring away potential Apple customers in Sydney with the Galaxy promotion, an Australian court slapped a temporary ban on the sale of Samsung's computer tablet, named the Galaxy Tab, in the country, saying Samsung infringed on Apple patents. Apple has also scored preliminary injunctions against some Samsung products in Germany and the Netherlands, and seeks to block sales of Samsung models in the United States, the key smartphone battleground. Samsung is trying to counter with lawsuits of its own, unsuccessfully so far, accusing Apple of infringing its technologies. Fast executioner Analysts who follow the company say Samsung may not have the next big idea but it does have world-class marketing chops. The world's biggest maker of flat screens and memory chips and the second-biggest mobile phone maker after Nokia can bring a product to market faster than anybody. Samsung can leverage costs by using the chips and screens from its other divisions in its products. It has unrivalled product differentiation, offering different phones for different market segments. But while Samsung has shown it can beat Apple in the market, few are convinced it has the innovative corporate culture to be the next Apple. The conglomerate's legendary founder Lee Byung-chull set up Samsung Electronics in 1969, producing black-and-white TVs that he supposedly learned how to make by tearing apart a Sony. Apple claims in its lawsuits that the Galaxy lineups using Google's Android platform copied the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad. "Koreans are great at reverse engineering," says John Strand, founder of Danish telecoms consultancy Strand Consult. Samsung's corporate culture values speed and adaptability, aspiring to be what they call in Korea the "fast executioner." "But to capture the imagination of the public in the way the iPhone or iPad have done, Samsung will need to take risks and produce something unique that has a true 'wow' factor and be first to market," said Tim Shepherd, an analyst at Canalys, a technology focused research firm. Technology agnostic Samsung doesn't just rely on Android. It is technology neutral, jointly developing software with Intel, using Microsoft's Windows, free software Linux and its own operating system, Bada, in its phones. Its vertically integrated supply chain of chips and displays also helps it better control production costs. "With eggs in all baskets, Samsung is poised to be the long-term winner regardless of how the dynamics play out between technologies and standards," analysts at Bernstein said in a report. "Samsung is unique among leading manufacturers of being extremely 'OS-agnostic'," they said referring to operating systems. One Samsung executive helpfully suggested that Apple might want to copy the Korean company. "What Apple might want to pursue is ironically what Samsung is doing right now: Keep introducing differentiated products to cater to the very low end of the market to the very top," said a senior Samsung official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. "We may have looked foolish by not focusing on just one mobile platform and instead spreading our resources for the time- and labor-consuming work of making phones with various platforms, but it showed patience eventually pays off." Samsung's speedy ascent to the smartphone summit came after the company was sent reeling by the storm Apple created over the launch of the iPhone 4 and the iPad early last year. Profit halved in the second quarter last year because it didn't have products to compete with the iPhone 4 and the iPad. But it caught up fast. Samsung released an upgraded version of its Galaxy S smartphone with improved processing power in April, less than a year after it was first introduced, making it also bigger but lighter. Months later, it unveiled upgraded versions of the Galaxy smartphone, running on the fast 4G network with a high-resolution display. The company was also first to challenge the iPad with different sizes and is now the No. 2 tablet vendor. Samsung sold nearly 20 million smartphones in the second quarter, about one million fewer than Apple. Its market share gap was less than 1 percentage point. But Samsung is expected to sell 95 million smartphones this year, higher than Apple's 81 million, and raise sales to 136 million versus Apple's 89 million units next year, JPMorgan analysts forecast. By comparison, Apple's latest iPhone followed 15 months after its previous model and had no facial changes, disappointing investors and fans who had hoped for a fancy and thinner product with a bigger screen and 4G connection. "If users are concerned about being 'future-proof' from a network technology point of view, Samsung clearly has a marketing edge at the moment ... Samsung has a strong ability to release competitive new smartphones on a timely basis," Fitch analyst Alvin Lim said. Clean, clear, colours Just listen to Michael Santos, an iPhone user for the last two years. The 22-year-old is about to abandon his iPhone after spending the past half-hour in a Samsung store in Singapore playing with the new Galaxy S II. "The screen on the Galaxy is high resolution, much clearer, cleaner and the colors are brighter," said Santos, a student on a holiday in Singapore. The Galaxy S II uses Samsung's own dual-core application processors, cutting costs there. It is slimmer and has a bigger display than the iPhone 4S and is being sold through around 140 operators in more than 100 countries. Choice, and lots of it, has been key to its success. "The secret to Samsung's success is strength in depth," said Geoff Blaber, analyst at London-based mobile consultancy CCS Insight. "Samsung is competing aggressively -- from pre-pay right up to the high-tier, where the Galaxy S II has arguably gained most from Nokia's slide in market share." "Words once solely used to describe Nokia are now applicable to Samsung. Scale, distribution and supply chain are interdependent elements that Samsung has mastered to drive both profit and volume," he said. Analysts say smartphones now account for one-third of Samsung's handset portfolio, up from 26 percent in the second quarter and 12 percent a year ago, lifting the profit margin of its overall handset business to around 14 percent. The iPhone, introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen template now adopted by its rivals, is still the gold standard in the smartphone market. But phones based on Android, which is available for free to handset vendors such as Samsung, HTC, LG Electronics, Motorola Mobility and Sony Ericsson, have come to dominate the market. Consumers of Android-powered smartphones tout its customization, price and also the fact that they do not need to synchronize their devices with a computer like users of Apple's operating system. Samsung may not have come up with the concept but it has adapted Apple's breakthrough smartphone idea perhaps better than any other handset maker. It tries to offer the Apple experience at a better price with better functionality. That was why Cho Su-ah, a college student in Seoul, picked Samsung over Apple. "I was attracted to the iPhone 4 more since many of my friends have it and I could get a lot of help from them if I needed. Also, as a girl, I was attracted to the cute design of Apple," she said. "But my thoughts on Galaxy changed after a few days of using it. Since it's a Korean phone I could get technical help much more easily than I would have with an iPhone. And although people said the Android market has fewer applications, I didn't have any trouble finding applications I wanted."

Japanese minister quits after 'town of death' gaffe

Yoshio Hachiro, the industry minister, resigned after describing the nuclear no-go area surrounding the damaged Fukushima power plant as a "town of death". The politician caused further upset when he joked with reporters about infecting people with radiation from his clothes following a tour of Fukushima. His resignation cast a bleak shadow over the nation's marking of the six-month anniversary of the March 11 disaster, which claimed more than 20,000 lives and left tens of thousands of survivors homeless across the north-east region. His departure was also a blow to Yoshihiko Noda, the nation's sixth new prime minister in five years, who apologised to the nation for the minister's inappropriate comments after he stepped down. It marks a shaky start to Mr Noda's new tenure at the helm as he attempts to restore the morale of the nation and boost the momentum of the recovery process following the departure of his strongly-criticised predecessor. The departed minister's comments about a "town of death" was likely to have hit a particularly raw nerve for the displaced residents of the region as the government is unable to provide them with a firm timetable for their return. Numerous homes, farms and businesses within a 12 mile radius around the still-damaged nuclear power plant remain out of bounds, with some areas near the site expected to be uninhabitable for years due to radiation contamination.

9/11 anniversary: Obama calls for a future with hope

US President Barack Obama has told Americans they should honour those who died in the 9/11 attacks, but look to the future with "hearts full of hope". He said the decade since the attacks showed Americans' resolve to defend their way of life. The ideal that "men and women should govern themselves... has only been strengthened", he said. Nearly 3,000 people died when four hijacked airliners crashed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Mr Obama was speaking during a memorial concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, closing a day of official commemorations of the 10th anniversary of the attacks, Earlier in the day he had attended memorial ceremonies at the three sites where four airliners hijacked by al-Qaeda militants crashed: the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and a Pennsylvania field. Continue reading the main story

PM Manmohan Singh applauds Sheikh Hasina govt's war on terror Live

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday praised the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh for cracking down on terrorists and militants who were constantly targeting India from its soil. "I would like to acknowledge the immense cooperation India has received from Bangladesh in this area, which is in the interest of both India and Bangladesh," Singh told the senior ministers, MPs and academicians of Bangladesh at Dhaka University. Minutes before his lecture, a blast rocked the high court in Delhi - killing 11 people and maiming 76. Hours later, the Harkatul-Jehadi-Islami (HuJI) militant group - an al- Qaeda affiliate with bases in Bangladesh - sent an email claiming responsibility. Ilyas Kashmiri, who the US authorities believe was recently killed in Pakistan, was the head of the HuJI and a senior al-Qaeda member. Pointing out the need to strengthen counter-terror cooperation, Singh said: "Both India and Bangladesh are vulnerable to the forces of extremism and terrorism. Such forces sap the strength of our societies, threaten our state systems and impede our social and economic progress. It is therefore of paramount importance that we work together." This explains the current level of security cooperation between the two countries. The issue had figured in Tuesday's discussion and Dhaka is currently expediting the legal process to hand over Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia. India's ties with Bangladesh had touched a new low between 2001 and 2006 - when the BNPJamaat coalition was in power - over the rise in extremism and anti- India terror conspiracy. Hasina's return to power saw immediate action on these fronts. Emphasising on Bangladesh's liberal ideology, the PM said: "Bangladesh has firmly rejected extremist ideas and achieved success as an open and moderate society and democracy. India and Bangladesh share these values." The PM's assertion on counterterror cooperation from a neighbour is significant, keeping in mind India's frustration over its western neighbour Pakistan's inaction on the terror infrastructure and the perpetrators of 26/ 11. A day after disappointment crept in Bangladesh circles over the delay in signing of the Teesta deal, the PM expressed determination to do so in the near future. "I was hopeful… we would be able to come to an agreement. Both sides worked very hard for a solution. Unfortunately, the efforts did not meet with success. I have asked all officials to intensify their efforts," the PM said, assuring that India will not take steps that will adversely impact the neighbouring country. A Bangladeshi daily, meanwhile, described West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's absence from the Indian delegation as "an insult to the Indian PM". Mamata refused to accompany the PM in protest against the final draft of the Teesta agreement. The Daily Star editorial said: "Mamata Banerjee's action amounts to a big let-down for Bangladesh and is an insult to the Indian Prime Minister." There were, however, some takeaways from the PM's visit - the two sides decided to conclude an extradition treaty in the near future. A joint statement issued on Wednesday after PM Singh left Dhaka said, "Bangladesh and India will conclude the extradition treaty expeditiously to complete the legal framework for bilateral security cooperation". The deal is likely to speed up the process for handing over Ulfa leaders. Bangladesh had earlier dragged its feet on signing such a treaty.

DSA undergoes changes live

A new Office for Student Engagement is now being created to help students find information more easily and combine Student Organizations, Greek Life, the Student Government Association (SGA) as well as Division for Student Affairs sponsored events to be a more efficient operation for the university. "We're trying to have a one-stop place for all students who want to be engaged in activities outside of the classroom, and a lot of those deal with being in organizations, such as Greek Life or Student Government," said Jim McHodgkins, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs. Cherié K. Thriffiley will now become the Director of the Office for Student Engagement, formerly the Director of Greek Life. Beth Richardson will now become the Assistant Director of the Office for Student Engagement, formerly the Coordinator of SGA. A new position, Coordinator of the Office for Student Engagement, will be an open search, where those qualified will be able to apply online. "Cherié will oversee a lot of the different things, dealing with the various student organizations and special initiatives that we have, such as Family Day and Traditions," said McHodgkins. "Beth will probably deal a lot more with the Greeks, and whoever is hired will deal with SGA. But that's not to say that their positions won't intermingle." Some students are already aware of the changes, such as students who work for SGA or Greek Life or members of their organizations. However, until the position of Coordinator of the Office for Student Engagement is filled most of the student population won't see the new office until it's created. "They're seeing some of the change already, but they probably won't see it fully until the whole thing is rolled out, filling all of the positions," said McHodgkins. "Right now, they are all just helping each other, as we are one person down." The Office for Student Engagement's main focus will be to provide a connection for students to grow as individuals through events operated by the new office. "By having a staff in there, it's going to allow us to be able to do more and to work with the students to engage them in abilities to make them stronger as leaders and individuals in their chapters," said McHodgkins. With budget cuts on the rise, the Division for Student Affairs will be able to do more with what they had without adding or cutting anything. This combination helps streamline processes that may have been done by multiple parties. "We'll be able to utilize our resources more efficiently, in staff as well as dollars, so instead of every department having the same thing, we can combine it so we can be more efficient and spread our dollars farther to make them more successful," said McHodgkins.

DNA results hit Morcombe family like 'sledgehammer' Live

Daniel Morcombe's parents say confirmation that human remains found on Queensland's Sunshine Coast belonged to their son was like "waiting for a sledgehammer to hit you". Bruce and Denise Morcombe have spoken publicly for the first time since police revealed yesterday that three bones found in bushland at Beerwah matched Daniel's DNA. Mr Morcombe says the family is feeling a mixture of relief and loss at the news. "Very sadly we had the confirmation that Daniel's remains are indeed at Glass House Mountains," he said. "We're to some degree quite traumatised by Daniel's loss and the findings. "It's something like waiting for the sledgehammer to hit you, but it still does come as a shock." Daniel was 13 when he disappeared at Woombye on the Sunshine Coast hinterland in 2003, sparking the largest missing persons case in Queensland's history. Since his disappearance the Morcombes have worked tirelessly to keep the case in the national consciousness. Mr Morcombe says while the DNA confirmation will not provide closure for the family, it represents an important step forward. "We wrestled with finding the appropriate word, and closure's one we've never been comfortable with," he said. "I, to some degree, just put it as relief. We've worked incredibly hard to find Daniel. "It's a place you don't want to be, but at the same time it is a relief we're entering the final chapter." An emotional Ms Morcombe said "we said we'd never give up and we proved it". But she says family will wait until all of Daniel's remains are recovered before they begin to plan a funeral. The entire Morcombe family, including Daniel's brothers Bradley and Dean, last week visited the site where the remains were found, and Ms Morcombe said it was "heartbreaking" watching her sons absorb the reality of the situation. "It was reality setting in, that no longer was their brother missing, the reality was their brother was murdered," Mr Morcombe said. But he said the family was not dwelling on the upcoming court case. "We don't focus anger, we don't focus on the court case or the person who's been charged; our focus has been on finding Daniel," he said. Search stalls Police say it could be several days before they can resume the search for Daniel's remains. The operation at the Beerwah site has been suspended since Saturday due to bad weather. Police say they are monitoring conditions and will resume as soon as possible. Officers have been scouring buildings near the site in the meantime, but would not reveal any further details. They say the investigation is ongoing and will keep searching for months if necessary. Police have charged Brett Peter Cowan with a number of offences, including with Daniel's abduction and murder. The father of three has signalled he will fight the charges.

America has to change its way of life

A Briton in America notices something about comparative politics. Britain's House of Commons reeks of conflict. The rival parties glare at one another from opposite benches. Debates are barbed and sometimes vicious — especially during the gladiatorial spectacle of prime minister's questions. America's Congress is different. Members of the House of Representatives sit shoulder-to-shoulder in the shape of a horseshoe. Debates, such as they are, are marked by an exaggerated decorum. The casual observer might easily conclude that America has the more consensual form of politics and Britain the more adversarial. As the bitter fights that have scarred the first half of President Barack Obama's presidency show, nothing could be further from the truth. Compared with the total war that is American politics, the British version is sport (amateur sport at that: the $1 billion [Dh3.67 billion] that Obama is said to be seeking for his re-election campaign would pay for an entire British general election 20 times over). After they heap scorn and vitriol upon one another in the debating chamber, members of the British Parliament retire companionably together to the bars and tea rooms of the Palace of Westminster. Friendships across party lines are easy, because the next election is generally years away (Parliament sits now for a fixed term of five years) and most politicians spend plenty of time in their taxpayer-subsidised homes in London. Besides, the present ideological quarrels between Tories, Labourites and Liberal Democrats pale into insignificance next to America's. No party dares to threaten the National Health Service, for example, or propose dramatic changes in tax rates. Above all, British politicians accept the rules of a simple game: the ruling party governs (occasionally in coalition) while the opposition bides its time. The life of the modern congressman could not be more different. Every member of the House is up for re-election every two years. That requires perpetual fund-raising and, thanks to the system of primary elections, assiduous cultivation of local activists. Many congressmen invest so much time in their districts that they do not bother to rent apartments in Washington, DC, let alone bring their families to the capital. Less time in Washington means fewer opportunities for them to befriend members of the other party, even if they wanted to. Increasingly, however, they don't. Friendships might be all very well if, as in Britain, the opposition were merely biding its time. In America's system the battle never pauses. Even before the Republicans captured the House in November's mid-terms, they were fully and often successfully engaged in seeking to thwart the will of the Democrats. As for ideological differences, the gap between America's parties is growing. The most conservative Democrat on Capitol Hill is to the left of the most liberal Republican, and vice-versa. The Democrats have become the defenders of social-transfer payments, the Republicans zealous champions of small government and low taxation. Many of the 87 freshmen Republicans entering the House in November do not believe that they were sent there to conduct business as usual . Close margins British politicians of all hues tune into the BBC's Today programme, the morning radio show that sets the nation's political agenda and referees the facts. America's listen to their separate echo-chambers. The addition of inexperienced legislators, burning with missionary zeal, to an already complex system of divided government and separated powers has cast even veteran observers of Congress into a despond. Norman Ornstein, the author with Thomas Mann of a book on Congress called The Broken Branch, declared recently that the 112th Congress was the worst ever, but that the next would be nastier still. Next year's elections, he says, are sure to produce very close margins in both houses, and even more polarisation as redistricting enhances the role of primaries on the Republican side, pulling candidates further to the right. As they ponder the scale of their debt and the deadlock between the parties, Americans are entitled to feel frustrated. A record eight out of 10 of them said after the recent debt-ceiling deal that they disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job. Given the impasse on the Hill, the occasional Anglophile will ask, could not America borrow something from a system that seems somehow to combine civility with the ability to get hard things done? Probably not. As they made unmannerly plain a couple of centuries ago, most Americans do not admire Britain's parliamentary democracy, which is, after all, no panacea. In 1976 Lord Hailsham, a Conservative politician, called its strong centralisation of decision-making an ‘elective dictatorship'. That might be a boon when strong government is needed: during war, say, or when rioters are burning London, or when, as during the Thatcher period, the times call for a wrenching change. America needs to make big changes if it is to live within its means. But this will not be done by tinkering with its system of government. It is the people who work the system who need to change, primarily by meeting their opponents halfway. They could make a start by asking a member of the other party over for dinner.

Slow registration for FNC candidacy on third day

Sharjah: The third day of registration got off at a snail-pace rate, as hardly any candidates showed up. Since registration opened up at 9am, only three candidates registered in a span of one hour and a half. The only sound you could hear was the background music playing from the speakers, and a quiet murmur from employees echoed in the hall, as they patiently waited for candidates.

Anna Hazare (K B Hazare) arrested by Delhi Police

Who is Anna Hazare

He once contemplated suicide and even wrote a two-page essay on why he wanted to end his life. Anna Hazare was not driven to such a pass by circumstances. He wanted to live no more because he was frustrated with life and wanted an answer to the purpose of human existence. The story goes that one day at the New Delhi Railway Station, he chanced upon a book on Swami Vivekananda. Drawn by Vivekananda's photograph, he is quoted as saying that he read the book and found his answer - that the motive of his life lay in service to his fellow humans. Today, Anna Hazare is the face of India's fight against corruption. He has taken that fight to the corridors of power and challenged the government at the highest level. People, the common man and well-known personalities alike, are supporting him in the hundreds swelling to the thousands. For more Click here >>>>>> (K B Hazare)

Obama’s Solemn Visit To Ground Zero

President Obama made a brief but solemn visit to the site of Osama bin Laden’s most heinous crime Thursday, meeting with first responders and the family members of 9/11 victims in his first trip to New York since the al Qaeda leader’s death. At the World Trade Center site itself, he made no speeches, simply leaving a wreath composed of red, white and blue flowers in front of what has come to be known as the “Survivor Tree.” Then Obama walked over to 14-year-old Payton Wall, whose father was killed nearby nearly ten years ago, and gave her a hug. “We just talked,” Wall told television crews after her meeting with the president, which was prompted by a letter she wrote him just days ago. She was joined by her younger sister, a friend who also lost a parent on 9/11, and her mother. Before that visit to Lower Manhattan, Obama met with a group of New York City firefighters in a station that lost 15 members on September 11, 2001. Bin Laden’s death, he said in his most extensive public remarks, sent a message “that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say.” And, he added pointedly, he believed that “when those guys took those extraordinary risks going into Pakistan, that they were doing it in part because of the sacrifices that were made in the States. They were doing it in the name of your brothers that were lost.” Although some on the right had contended that Obama’s visit to New York would serve as little more than a “victory lap,” including, supposedly, an anonymous member of the George W. Bush camp, the mood throughout the day was somber. The trip was Obama’s first to Ground Zero since 2008. After he laid the wreath just steps from where the World Trade Center towers once stood, Obama had a private meeting with about 60 people who lost family members on 9/11. For Lee Ielpi, a retired member of the FDNY whose firefighter son died responding to the attack on the World Trade Center, that meeting was “casual.” He noted that “there was no script. I was impressed, he spoke from the heart, he was very sincere, he spoke about the mission and that it was accomplished, which I really thought was very nice.” Inside the meeting, President Obama spoke for a short time to the assembled family members as a whole. “There’s a word that most families don’t like or understand, and that’s closure, and he never said it,” Ielpi told HuffPost afterward. “The word he used was peace — I hope this brings some peace to your families.” After that, the president went from table to table speaking with the family members. Ielpi described a quiet but “very powerful” series of encounters. “He went and spoke with every single family member there — shook their hands, shared a tear with them.” Debra Burlingame, an often-time critic of the president from the right whose brother was the pilot of the plane that flew into the Pentagon, told Fox News the event was “very social.” The president’s entrance was “almost like a neighbor coming into a barbecue, there was no pomp, no ceremony.” She left still dissatisfied with the president’s policies. Talat Hamdani, a Muslim American critic of Guantanamo whose son was a NYPD cadet killed responding to the attacks, said she was surprised at how much the president’s visit meant to her. “I never realized that I would feel all these emotions, feeling overwhelmed,” she said. “It was just a, you know, a very special moment, especially at the 9/11 memorial, to know that your president cares for you,” she said. She too described a quiet, sober meeting: “He exudes so much calmness, it was inexpressible.” Brennan Basnicki, 26, whose father was killed on September 11, did not attend, saying that “While President Obama’s visit is a kind and respectable gesture, the reality is that his visit doesn’t change the events that have taken place.” The meeting with family members lasted less than an hour, and then the president was gone, leaving on a helicopter for Kennedy International Airport. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who attended the wreath ceremony, expressed satisfaction with the trip, saying, “I was inspired by the strength of the families who stood here today, thinking of their loved ones, knowing that the first chapter has closed and moving to the next chapter.” Gillibrand was joined by a number of prominent politicians from New York and the tri-state area, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Republican elected officials like Rep. Peter King (N.Y.) and Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.). King said, “Visiting Ground Zero was the appropriate thing for the President to do. It was very meaningful to the 9/11 families. The President handled it with great dignity.” Many details of the trip came together at the last minute, with some invitees receiving invitations just a few hours before Obama arrived in the city. The small number of family members who were able to attend — just around 60 relatives for the nearly 3,000 individuals who died on September 11 — led to some complaints about the selection process. Donna Marsh O’Connor, who lost a daughter on 9/11, said before Obama’s trip that “The visit is fine but the mysterious planning for it is divisive and problematic.” According to the White House, invitees were chosen in consultation with the National 9/11 Memorial and were intended to serve as a “cross section” of family members. For Ielpi, that cross section worked, creating a “diverse” group around him. And even though fierce critics of the president like 9/11 Burlingame were invited, he said he “didn’t hear any politics.” Though President Obama invited his predecessor to attend the memorial, Bush declined. The event as a whole stood in stark contrast to George W. Bush’s famous stand atop the World Trade Center rubble with a bullhorn, where he promised that “the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” Nearly ten years later, after two wars and a long, frustrating search for justice for Bin Laden’s victims, Obama seemed content for the most part to let SEAL Team Six’s work speak for itself. On Friday he will meet with members of that elite team. For more >>>