March 6, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Kenya PM Raila Odinga denounces murder of human rights advocates… Sudan ambassador to UN says aid groups “spoiling” country, while Khartoum continues campaign against civilians in Darfur… GOP blocks spending bill for “earmarks”, despite requesting over 4,000 of them; GOP leaders propose “spending freeze”, a policy embraced by Pres. Herbert Hoover, which sped the arrival of the Great Depression… Italy to build world’s longest suspension bridge in stimulus plan, linking Sicily to mainland…
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March 5, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
Saying the nation cannot afford any further delay, Pres. Barack Obama told a joint session of Congress last week, “let there be no doubt, healthcare reform cannot wait, it must not wait and it will not wait another year.” He promised he would begin meetings this week, to begin formulating the strategy that would best achieve the goal of “quality, affordable healthcare coverage for all Americans”.
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March 3, 2009 :: Severino Villalonso :: Comments Off
Raúl Castro, brother and replacement of Fidel Castro, who headed Cuba’s revolutionary government for nearly 50 years, has replaced two top officials who were long-time aides to his brother and potential successors. The move is being called a clear indication that Raúl Castro is now the true leader of the Cuban state, not just a place-holder for his ailing brother.
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March 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama today visited the Interior Dept., noting it was once called in jest “the Department of Everything Else”, a government agency with responsibility for nearly 1/5 of the entire land area of the United States. He professed his intention to task the Interior Dept. with taking major steps to help build green infrastructure for an energy economy based on solar-voltaic and wind-turbine-generated energy.
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March 3, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Zimbabwe has released a top human rights activist whose detention was illegal, according to activists, the opposition and foreign governments. Zimbabwe power-sharing arrangement still under strain as Mugabe regime seeks to guard against prosecution for past crimes. After a sustained series of bombings across Pakistan, an attack by gunmen in Lahore, this time targeting a [...]
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March 2, 2009 :: Riga Listin :: Comments Off
The United States and the Russian Federation are reportedly planning lengthy and in-depth discussions in Geneva, starting Friday, to improve relations and strengthen bilateral efforts in a number of areas. Security in Europe, the Middle East and the far East will all be on the agenda, as will nuclear non-proliferation and negotiation with Iran to halt its nuclear program.
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March 2, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: 2 Comments
The Obama administration is looking at the severity of the banking crisis with a mind to settling the issue of survivability and recoverability of banks, case by case, based on facts in evidence. The first step will be to gather evidence, through a series of ‘stress tests’ designed to examine what resources troubled banks have to weather oncoming storms, then plan according to the results of those tests.
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February 28, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Transcript of President Barack Obama’s Weekly Address Saturday, February 28th, 2009, as released by the White House Two years ago, we set out on a journey to change the way that Washington works. We sought a government that served not the interests of powerful lobbyists or the wealthiest few, but the middle-class Americans I met [...]
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February 27, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
CitiGroup announces deal to let US government take 36% stake in firm, up from 8% stake, a move that will intensify regulatory scrutiny and possibly move firm toward solvency by way of nationalization. Move is third rescue in five months in ongoing effort to save massive banking operation. Obama announces plan to remove most US [...]
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February 27, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
In keeping with my commitment to make our government more open and transparent, this budget is an honest accounting of where we are and where we intend to go. For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent. Large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that kind of dishonest accounting is not how you run your family budgets at home; it’s not how your government should run its budgets, either. We need to be honest with ourselves about what costs are being racked up — because that’s how we’ll come to grips with the hard choices that lie ahead. And there are some hard choices that lie ahead.
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February 26, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
The administration of Pres. Barack Obama has lifted a ban on filming and/or photographing the coffins of soldiers killed overseas. Defense Secretary Robert Gates had been asked to review the ban, put in place by the first Pres. Bush, in 1991, and he found that the ban could be lifted without any negative impact on [...]
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February 25, 2009 :: Severino Villalonso :: Comments Off
Last night, Pres. Barack Obama made his first address on the state of the nation to a joint session of Congress, though not officially classed as a ‘State of the Union’ address. Obama sought to reassure the public that economic recovery was in its beginning stages and the future was full of hope and possibility, proclaiming: “We will rebuild, we will recover and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.”
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February 25, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Bobby Jindal’s official Republican response to Barack Obama’s address last night was nothing short of a startling, clumsy, shameful attempt to hijack the ideas and the achievements of Barack Obama. One by one, he listed priorities his party has neglected or fought against for decades, each of which Obama not only talks about, but has been implementing, as if the Louisiana governor believed there were any credible way for Americans to take his spiel seriously.
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February 25, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
As Prepared for Delivery, Tuesday, 24 February 2009 Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States: I’ve come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us [...]
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February 25, 2009 :: Webb Tisch :: One Comment
The official Republican party response from Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal was surprising for a number of reasons, not least because he declared his party’s support for affordable universal healthcare coverage, something with very little history to back it up. He clearly sought to co-opt Obama’a can-do “era of responsibility” message. He even went as far as to suggest that somehow his vision might be more in line with the spirit of great historic achievements like the freeing of slaves than Obama’s, perhaps an ethical low in purely rhetorical flourishes.
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February 20, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
A few years back, an ambitious youngish president staged an impressive event, in which he landed a fighter-jet on an aircraft carrier, then declared “Mission Accomplished”, in the midst of what would turn out to be only the first baby steps of a very complicated war. The $780 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a victory for the president in terms of his organizing Congressional support, but it is just the beginning of a very long, high-stakes journey, for his nascent administration, and for the nation.
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February 18, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
La Secretaria de Estado, Hillary Clinton, visita hoy la sede del gobierno indonesí, en Djakarta, con un mensaje sin matices: el gobierno del Presidente Barack Obama quiere tenderle la mano al país islámico más poblado, la tercera democracia más poblada del planeta. Con una población de 237 millones, Indonesia es el cuarto país más poblado de la Tierra, después de China, India, y Estados Unidos, y un eje clave en la dinámica político-económica de la región.
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February 17, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
What makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save 3½ million jobs over the next two years, including nearly 60,000 in Colorado. It’s that we are putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done in critical areas that have been neglected for too long, work that will bring real and lasting change for generations to come.
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February 16, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
50 years ago today, Fidel Castro was sworn in as president of Cuba, after his rebel militia overthrew the authoritarian Batista regime. Castro’s revolutionary government is still in command, under Fidel’s brother Raúl, whom many are calling on to institute substantial reforms and democratize Cuba and its one-party system. Xinhua reports that “Sri Lankan President [...]
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February 16, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
We have hashed out the details of how finance became a shell game and our major banks lost track of what was real money and what was speculative. And now, we have the consequent malaise, rippling out and flooding underfoot. People are infused with a sense of urgency and intoxicated by the beguiling qualities of the concept of their own martyrdom.
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February 13, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
The current crisis, in a sense, stems from an all-too-pervasive and endless test of human nature: the lenders wanted mega-profits from everyone, not just a little on top, no matter how much or how little additional wealth their wealth could reasonably generate. Despite getting substantially richer as credit and lending proliferated, it seems there was a (perhaps subconscious) insistence among the top bankers that they should see their lot improved by vast amounts for every last consumer diving into credit or investments. This means: the ideology of bank management devolved into a notion of automatic income, a dangerous and untenable approach.
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February 11, 2009 :: Riga Listin :: Comments Off
As the world’s focus begins to shift, with the priorities of the American administration, to the conflict zone in Afghanistan, which may or may not include the tribal areas along the border, inside Pakistan, we must ask: will the administration of Barack Obama pressure officials in either country to end the brutal violence suffered by women?
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February 11, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
US Senate votes 61 to 37 to approve American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, devoting over $800 billion in investments to public works, social programs, lending and tax measures, to spur economic recovery, private investment and job creation. The bill will have to be renegotiated with the House of Representatives in a conference committee compromise bill that both houses will have to approve before Pres. Obama can sign it into law.
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February 10, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
I took a trip to Elkhart, Indiana today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7 percent to 15.3 percent. Companies that have sustained this community for years are shedding jobs at an alarming speed, and the people who’ve lost them have no idea what to do or who to turn to. They can’t pay their bills and they’ve stopped spending money. And because they’ve stopped spending money, more businesses have been forced to lay off more workers. In fact, local TV stations have started running public service announcements that tell people where to find food banks, even as the food banks don’t have enough to meet the demand.
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February 10, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama led his remarks with a mention of today’s town-hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana, which he highlighted as a town whose troubles illustrate the gravity of the current crisis. He said that job losses and recession have become so deep there that local television stations are broadcasting public service announcements notifying residents where to find food banks.
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February 9, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama today held a unique town-hall meeting in Elkhart, Indiana, in which he explained to a community beset with the worst unemployment rate in the country, at 15.3%, why the recovery and reinvestment bill before Congress is urgently needed and how it will work. First delivering a detailed assessment of the nation’s economic woes, then answering questions from unscreened citizens in attendance, Obama gave a vigorous defense of the unique stimulus project that blends “economic recovery” and “community reinvestment”.
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February 8, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Pres. Barack Obama announced, just one week after taking office, the creation of a new website, Recovery.gov, which will detail the manner in which all the money from his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, once passed by Congress and signed into law, is being spent. The website is another in a series of steps to create a far-reaching reform of the federal government’s reporting to the public about its activities, with the aim of achieving Obama’s promise of the “most transparent” government in US history.
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February 6, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Whether you are an avid supporter of Barack Obama, a perennial political skeptic, a critic, or a staunchly ideological opponent, it is clear that there must be some sort of vast, perhaps unprecedented economic stimulus put into effect in order to slow or reverse a now spiraling economic downturn. And, all have to admit as well, it is a very risky thing to gamble one’s political capital, at such a crucial moment in American history, on a huge spending package that might not have a very visible effect in the immediate short term.
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February 6, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama today announced his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, a panel of business leaders and economic advisors who will advise the president as to the better or more risky proposals which may be used to reverse the economic downturn. Obama sought to press lawmakers on the “urgency” of the crisis, warning that inaction will only allow the problem to worsen.
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February 6, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama is struggling to make a case for economic stimulus, despite being one of the most talented communicators seen in American politics for decades. Political pundits on television and in print are criticizing the White House for failing to communicate the virtues of a very large, very complex economic stimulus plan. But, in defense of the new model of the presidency which Obama has sought to manifest, the man has been working diligently on a vast range of issues that require attention or correction, and most likely, he wanted the legislative process to be more effective than it has been.
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February 4, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
The US, Britain, EU, Japan and Norway, have called on the Tamil Tiger rebels to lay down their arms in order to prevent further harm to the civilian population in what appears to be a conflict nearing its end. Sri Lanka’s government is accused of bombing civilian areas and yesterday striking a hospital, with some [...]
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January 30, 2009 :: Denver Lessing :: Comments Off
Pres. Barack Obama has announced the creation of a special task force on the prosperity of the middle class, to be headed by Vice-President Joe Biden. The president also said he views organized labor as “part of the solution” for an ailing economy, and said he would sign 3 executive orders to require federal contractors to let workers know their collective bargaining rights.
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January 29, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
House Republicans have refused the offer of bipartisanship from Pres. Obama, even after he pushed to include more tax measures to benefit small and medium-sized businesses. The House of Representatives yesterday approved an $819 billion recovery and reinvestment bill, by a 244-188 vote, with zero Republicans voting yes, one abstaining and 11 Democrats voting no.
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January 29, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
Millions of people are expected to gather on the National Mall, between the west face of the Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial; security is expected to be without any known precedent, and temperatures are not likely to rise above freezing… should we go? Should we go, and if we do, should we go as [...]
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January 27, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
US-Iran: The new US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, has said the Obama administration will engage in “direct diplomacy” with Iran, but only once Tehran suspends uranium enrichment, in keeping with UN Security Council resolutions that aim to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons. ICC: The first man to be tried by the International [...]
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January 26, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Food supply: UN sec. gen. Ban Ki-moon and Spanish pres. José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero meet in Madrid for UN conference on exploding food prices, potential related security risks, potential solutions. Last year, as the banking system suffered widespread instability, across the world, soaring transport and food costs put tens of millions of people around the [...]
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January 26, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: 3 Comments
Pres. Barack Obama today addressed a room full of invited guests from the business community, to outline his position as to economic stimulus, energy innovation, climate destabilization and dependence on high-polluting combustible fuels. The president then signed more executive orders raising fuel-efficiency standards and ordering a review of the EPA’s barring California from raising tailpipe carbon-emissions standards. Striking a defiant tone, Obama declared that “America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes and a warming planet”.
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January 23, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Pres. Obama will issue executive orders to restore funding to family planning organizations that provide information about or assist in abortions, restoring funding that was banned by Pres. Bush, depriving NGOs across the developing world of millions of dollars in needed aid… Obama will also act to enable government funding of research that relates to [...]
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January 22, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
Timothy Geithner, whose nomination for secretary of Treasury has been questioned due to a tax-filing mistake he made years ago, which has been accounted for and paid in full, has been approved by a Senate committe vote, clearing the way for an approval vote before the full Senate in coming days. Sec. of State Hillary [...]
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January 22, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Pres. Obama today signed 4 executive orders dramatically redirecting administration policy from that of the Bush administration. He signed one order to close the Guantánamo Bay prison camp by 22 January 2010, another to close CIA “black site” prisons across the globe, another would establish a special task force in collaboration with Defense Secretary Robert Gates to determine detention policy going forward, and the fourth would require all US personnel to adhere at all times to the rules for treatment of prisoners as laid out in the Army Field Manual.
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January 21, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
Pres. Obama immediately began the hard work of governing, and perhaps the even harder work of fulfilling his highly ambitious and principled campaign promises. On the morning of his first full day as chief executive of the United States government, Pres. Obama phoned four heads of state across the Middle East —Israel, Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan— to discuss his feeling that there is an urgent need to start a practical and viable process of sustainable peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
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January 21, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
Russia and Ukraine have confirmed that they have arranged for the flow of natural gas from Russia, through Ukraine, to the EU, to be restored, though the two states differ on the details of when that resumed service will occur exactly, and EU monitors will be watching to ensure compliance with ongoing agreements. The trials [...]
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January 21, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
Over 2 million people flooded the National Mall and surrounding streets at the heart of the nation’s capital to attend the Inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States. The unprecedented crowd, facing unprecedented security measures, gathered in good spirits to hear what was widely seen as the dawning of a new era. Obama himself said that citizenship carries the burden of responsibility for “shaping an uncertain destiny”.
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January 20, 2009 :: staff :: One Comment
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age…
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January 20, 2009 :: staff :: Comments Off
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many — and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
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January 20, 2009 :: J.E. Robertson :: Comments Off
The hour is upon us, a new period in our history is about to open up before us, and we are called to shoulder the responsibilities of our aspirations, our needs and our freedoms. It is a serious undertaking, a task of noble and concerning difficulty, to be the change, the improvement, we demand, but so it is, and we have awakened to that complex, ethical and civic principle.
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