Posted by James O'Rourke on January 26, 2009
Editorial
January 26, 2009
ONE IS CALLED a special envoy for the Mideast, the other a special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Whatever the titles bestowed on former senator George Mitchell and erstwhile diplomat Richard Holbrooke, their respective appointments send a heartening message that President Obama and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, are serious about elevating the role of diplomacy in US foreign policy.
Impressive as the past achievements of Mitchell and Holbrooke have been, the knots they are being asked to untie now will not yield to the mere force of their personalities or mediating skills. They have been chosen to carry out Obama’s policies, and it will be those that determine American success or failure in resolving conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The appointments are encouraging signs. Mitchell has a deserved reputation for resoluteness, fairness, and unflappability. Some of the lessons he learned from his role in forging the 1998 Good Friday agreement that led to peace in Northern Ireland are applicable to the Mideast. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Issues | Tagged: Middle East, Mitchell | Leave a Comment »
Posted by James O'Rourke on January 26, 2009
Reuters.com
Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:46pm EST
25 Jan 2009
By Emily Kaiser and Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser would not rule out on Sunday that more money may be needed to stabilize the U.S. financial system as a deep recession increases banks’ losses.
Lawrence Summers, head of the National Economic Council, also said there was no question that tax cuts passed under former President George W. Bush needed to be repealed, though he would not be pinned down on exactly when.
“We can make important progress and get started with the support that has been provided,” Summers said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked whether taxpayers should expect another request for funding to shore up the financial system.
“What ultimately will be necessary is something that will play out over time.”
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier that “some increased investment” may be needed beyond the $700 billion approved last fall. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in *Economy, *Obama Administration, Bailout | Tagged: *Economy, Bailout | Leave a Comment »
Posted by James O'Rourke on January 26, 2009
The Huffington Post | Rachel Weiner | January 26, 2009 05:10 PM
Read More: Conyers Rove, Conyers Rove Subpoena, Conyers Subpoenas Rove, John Conyers, Karl Rove, Politics News
On Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) issued a subpoena to Karl Rove, requiring him to testify regarding his role in the Bush Administration’s politicization of the Department of Justice, including the US Attorney firings and the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. The subpoena calls for Rove to appear at deposition on Monday, February 2, 2009.
Rove has previously refused to appear in response to a Judiciary Committee subpoena, claiming that even former presidential advisers cannot be compelled to testify before Congress. That “absolute immunity” position was supported by then-President Bush, but it has been rejected by U.S. District Judge John Bates. President Obama has previously dismissed the claim as “completely misguided.”
“I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today’s action is an important step along the way,” said Rep. Conyers. Noting that the change in administration may impact the legal arguments available to Mr. Rove in this long-running dispute, Mr. Conyers added, “Change has come to Washingt
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Posted by James O'Rourke on January 26, 2009
JEANNINE AVERSA | January 26, 2009 07:03 PM EST | 
Jeffrey Kindler, left, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, and Bernard Poussot, president, chairman and CEO of Wyeth, attend a news conference Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 in New York. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. is buying rival drugmaker Wyeth in a $68 billion cash-and-stock deal that could reshape the drug development industry. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
WASHINGTON — The recession is killing jobs at an alarming pace, with tens of thousands of new layoffs announced Monday by some of the biggest names in American business _ Pfizer, Caterpillar and Home Depot.
More pink slips, pay freezes and other hits are expected to slam workers in the months ahead as companies desperately look for ways to survive.
“We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg _ the big firms,” said Rebecca Braeu, economist at John Hancock Financial Services. “There’s certainly other firms beneath them that will lay off workers as quickly or even quicker.”
Looking ahead, economists predicted a net loss of at least 2 million jobs _ possibly more _ this year even if President Barack Obama’s $825 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts is enacted. Last year, the economy lost a net 2.6 million jobs, the most since 1945, though the labor force has grown significantly since then.
The unemployment rate, now at a 16-year high of 7.2 percent, could hit 10 percent or higher later this year or early next year, under some analysts’ projections. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in *Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by James O'Rourke on January 26, 2009
By Robert J. Samuelson
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Washington Post
We all want President Obama to succeed in reviving the economy, but that shouldn’t obscure the long odds he faces. We need to recognize that we’re grappling with three crises that, though interwoven, are also quite distinct. The solution to any one of them won’t automatically resuscitate the larger economy if the others remain untreated and unchanged.
Here are the three.
First: the collapse of consumer spending. American consumers represent 70 percent of the economy. Traumatized by plunging home values and stock prices — which have shaved at least $7 trillion from personal wealth — they’ve curbed spending and increased saving. That’s led directly to layoffs. In December, vehicle sales were down 36 percent from levels a year earlier.
Second: the financial crisis. Lower lending deprives the economy of the credit to finance businesses, homes and costly consumer purchases (cars, appliances). The deepest cuts involve “securitization” — the sale of bonds. Investors have gone on strike. In 2008, the issuance of bonds backing credit card loans fell 41 percent and those backing car loans 51 percent.
Third: a trade crisis. Global spending and saving patterns are badly askew. High-saving Asian countries have relied on export-led growth that, in turn, has required American consumers to spend ever-larger shares of their incomes. Huge trade imbalances have resulted: U.S. deficits, Asian surpluses. As Americans cut spending, this pattern is no longer sustainable. Asia is tumbling into recession.
Overcoming any of these crises alone would be daunting. Together, they’re the economic equivalent of a combined Ironman triathlon and Tour de France. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in *Economy, Opinions | Tagged: *Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by James O'Rourke on January 26, 2009
Justice Dept. Official in 2003 Said President’s Wartime Authority Trumped Many Statutes
By Dan Eggen and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; Page A01
The Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon in 2003 asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president’s ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes.
The 81-page memo, which was declassified and released publicly yesterday, argues that poking, slapping or shoving detainees would not give rise to criminal liability. The document also appears to defend the use of mind-altering drugs that do not produce “an extreme effect” calculated to “cause a profound disruption of the senses or personality.”
Although the existence of the memo has long been known, its contents had not been previously disclosed.
Nine months after it was issued, Justice Department officials told the Defense Department to stop relying on it. But its reasoning provided the legal foundation for the Defense Department’s use of aggressive interrogation practices at a crucial time, as captives poured into military jails from Afghanistan and U.S. forces prepared to invade Iraq. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Torture | Tagged: Bush, guantanimo, rumsfeld, Torture, war crimes, yoo | Leave a Comment »
Posted by James O'Rourke on January 26, 2009
By Jason Leopold, Consortium News. Posted January 26, 2009.
To the surprise of progressives and anger of the GOP, leading Dems support investigations.
As President Barack Obama reverses some of ex-President George W. Bush’s most controversial “war on terror” policies, a consensus seems to be building among Democratic congressional leaders that further investigations are needed into Bush’s use of torture and other potential crimes.
On Wednesday – the first working day of the Obama administration – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he would support funding and staff for additional fact-finding by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which last month released a report tracing abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib to Bush’s Feb. 7, 2002, decision to exclude terror suspects from Geneva Convention protections.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, who issued that report, echoed Reid’s comments, saying “there needs to be an accounting of torture in this country.” Levin, D-Michigan, also said he intends to encourage the Justice Department and incoming Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate torture practices that took place while Bush was in office.
Two other key Democrats joined in this growing chorus of lawmakers saying that serious investigations should be conducted. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 111th Congress, Bush Administration, Civil Liberties, Rights, Justice, Torture | Tagged: Bush, democrats, Obama, Torture, war crimes, White House | Leave a Comment »
