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Lobbyists pushed off advisory panels - WH initiative to limit influence could affect thousands
Lobbyists pushed off advisory panels White House initiative to limit influence could affect thousands By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 27, 2009 Hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels as part of a little-noticed initiative by the Obama administration to curb K Street's influence in Washington, according to White House officials and lobbying experts. The new policy -- issued with little fanfare this fall by the White House ethics counsel -- may turn out to be the most far-reaching lobbying rule change so far from President Obama, who also has sought to restrict the ability of lobbyists to get jobs in his administration and to negotiate over stimulus contracts. The initiative is aimed at a system of advisory committees so vast that federal officials don't have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people. Under
Discuss (38 posts) | Washington Post Outside link
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German Minister Resigns Over Afghan Airstrike
29 minutes ago · November 27, 2009 By NICHOLAS KULISH BERLIN — A top German official in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet, Franz Josef Jung, resigned Friday, saying he accepted “political responsibility” for accusations that the military withheld information on an airstrike in Afghanistan in September that killed civilians as well as insurgents. The announcement by Mr. Jung, 60, who was defense minister at the time of the strike, added to the disquiet in political and military circles here after the resi
Discuss (0 posts) | New York Times Outside link
UK diplomat: US was 'hell bent' on Iraq invasion
1 hour ago · LONDON – The United States was "hell bent" on a 2003 military invasion of Iraq and actively undermined efforts by Britain to win international authorization for the war, a former British diplomat told an inquiry Friday. Jeremy Greenstock, British ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2003, said that President George W. Bush had no real interest in attempts to agree on a U.N. resolution to provide explicit backing for the conflict. The ex-diplomat, who served as Britain's envoy in I
Discuss (4 posts) | Assiciated Press Outside link
Germany's Top Soldier Resigns over (Afghanistan) Air Strike Accusations
1 hour ago · Germany's Top Soldier Resigns over Air Strike Accusations Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told the German parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday morning that Bundeswehr Inspector General Wolfgang Schneiderhan, the highest-ranking officer in Germany’s armed forces, had asked to be relieved of his official duties. Guttenberg said that Peter Wichert, a state secretary in the Defense Ministry, would also resign. …German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg…largely confirmed
Discuss (0 posts) | Der Spiegel Outside link
CIA goes hiring in heart of Arab America
1 hour ago · DEARBORN, Mich., Nov 27 (Reuters) - At Tuhama's Lebanese deli in Dearborn, and at bakeries and barbershops throughout town, it's no secret the CIA is looking for a few good spies. "There is a lot of talk, and nobody likes it," said Hamze Chehade, a 48-year-old Lebanese-American, taking a bite of his chicken shawarma. In dire need of agents fluent in Arabic, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has made an unusual public show of its recruiting effort in Dearborn -- a city of 100,000 with th
Discuss (3 posts) | Reuters Outside link
Texas gov leads GOP fight against climate bill
1 hour ago · While the U.S. Senate considers a climate bill aiming to dramatically slash air pollution linked to global warming, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and other Republican leaders in the state that leads the nation in greenhouse gas production are watching closely — and objecting loudly. Perry, backed by powerful business and industry groups, for months has been denouncing the measure, saying it would cripple the vibrant Texas economy and the heavy-polluting oil, gas and chemical industries it depends on.
Discuss (3 posts) | AP Outside link
U.S. Groups That Supported Coups in Haiti and Venezuela Will Observe Elections in Honduras
2 hours ago · The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), organizations that receive funding from the U.S. State Department, are planning on sending delegations to observe the November 29 elections in Honduras, according to a statement issued by Republican Senator Richard Lugar. The IRI is a group that has supported the ouster of democratically elected presidents in Haiti and Venezuela in recent years. Both groups are apparently planning to assist with observation
Discuss (4 posts) | The Center for Economic and Policy Research Outside link
Big U.S Banks May Be Forced to Raise More Capital Soon
2 hours ago · (Reuters) - Most big U.S. banks may be forced to make public offerings soon if the Treasury demands payback of the funds it issued under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, veteran banking analyst Richard Bove said. The U.S. Federal Reserve this month asked banks that were part of its "stress tests" to submit plans to repay government money, if they have not already repaid it. "Virtually all of the banks can easily redeem their TARP preferreds from current cash holdings. However, it may be
Discuss (5 posts) | ABC News Outside link
Palin Tricked By Comedian Again, Says Canada Should Drop Public Health Care
2 hours ago · At a recent stop on her "Going Rogue" book tour, Sarah Palin told Canadian comedian Mary Walsh that Canada should get rid of its public health care system. Walsh is the co-creator and star of This Hour Has 22 Minutes -- a nightly news parody show in the same vein as The Daily Show -- and she arrived in character, as the conservative Marg Delahunty, to the Borders where Palin (the "Alaskan Aphrodite") was signing books. "I just wanted to ask you if you have any words of encouragement for Ca
Discuss (9 posts) | Huffington Post Outside link
Stock pile of tear gas grenades in Honduras triggers fears of human rights abuses
3 hours ago · Stock pile of tear gas grenades in Honduras triggers fears of human rights abuses 27 November 2009 Amnesty International has learned that the de facto authorities in Honduras have stock piled 10,000 tear gas cans and other crowd control equipment, triggering fears of an increased risk of excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces around the presidential elections. An Amnesty International delegation in Honduras to monitor the human rights situation around the presid
Discuss (10 posts) | Amnesty International Outside link
Iran Censured Over Nuclear Program by U.N. Watchdog
3 hours ago · One day after the director general of the United Nations nuclear watchdog castigated Iran for blocking inquiries into its nuclear program, the organization’s governing body added a further rebuke Friday, demanding that the country freeze operations “immediately” at a once-secret uranium enrichment plant. In an overwhelming display of disapproval, the governing body also expressed “serious concern” about potential military aspects of Iran’s nuclear program. The resolution censuring Iran wa
Discuss (1 post) | New York Times Outside link
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Nov 27 · A Special Message to Joe Lieberman From His College Roommate By David Wyles Over the past few years, we have published appeals to Joe Lieberman by his Yale undergraduate roommate, David Wyles. Today, we are posting David's holiday message to the man who you never want to get in between him and a camera: Joe Lieberman. ............. I was Joe Lieberman's friend and roommate for all four years at Yale. I supported him personally and politically (helping him to be elected as Chairman of
Discuss (8 posts) | Journal
Nov 27 · (Photo: anjan58 / Flickr) Unhappy Thanksgiving By William Rivers Pitt t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed Thursday 26 November 2009 The calendar has come around again to Thanksgiving, and families all over the country will be gathering around dinner tables to celebrate. Or try to, anyway. With unemployment above ten percent, and with actual unemployment closer to twenty percent, with foreclosures all over the place, with wages dropping and food prices rising, with the economy improving only f
Discuss (24 posts) | Journal
Nov 26 · Sometimes the answer to a question is so simple, it somehow fails to be noticed and appreciated. People tend to over-analyze the most complicated aspects of a problem and, in so doing, fail to discern the obvious cause of the undesirable effect. In my most humble opinion, the state we now find ourselves in – as a nation, and as global citizens – is simply matter of a lack of individual conscience. I don’t know where our consciences have fled – or why they have been suppressed, ignored,
Discuss (31 posts) | Journal
Nov 26 · It is ironic that they are noticing that they were paying some teachers more than the traditional public Broward County Schools. One would think that would be okay for a charter school which is getting so much private and taxpayer money to pay their teachers more....but they don't agree. This really points out that public school teachers have contracts for the year or for longer if they have tenure. In a public school their salary would not change at the whim of management. A commi
Discuss (9 posts) | Journal
Nov 26 · Hi, everyone! It’s me, NanceGreggs, live-blogging from the first Thanksgiving get-together – and what an event it’s turning out to be! (First off, thanks to Sherman & Peabody Inc. for supplying the Wayback Machine, without the use of which this blog wouldn’t be possible.) Right now I am on the Red Carpet, where a pre-pre-pre-surgery Joan Rivers is welcoming celebrity guests. “So, WHO are you wearing to tomorrow’s festivities?,” she asks – and admittedly it’s a question on everyone’s mind
Discuss (21 posts) | Journal
Nov 25 · I'VE read some interesting comments here regarding reports President Obama will increase the U.S. force in Afghanistan by as many as 30,000 troops. The most interesting are those who say they'll wait to see the president's plan before passing judgment on the wisdom of the reported escalation. Fair enough. Reports are that the president has spent the time between the 'leaked' recommendation to add 40,000 more troops by his commander in Afghanistan, Gen. McCrystal, soliciting advice from the P
Discuss (22 posts) | Journal
Nov 25 · In his op ed today in the WSJ Ford joins with Eli Broad of the Broad Foundation and Louis Gerstner, former chairman of IBM. The Broad Foundation has joined the Gates and Walton foundations in giving hundreds of millions to advance charter schools. From Susan O'Hanian's education blog today, we get the letter and some behind the scenes stories on how we got to this point. She is correct in saying that the DLC has made charter schools its goal. If you doubt that the Democratic Leader
Discuss (40 posts) | Journal
Nov 25 · "The modern American family is the smallest and most barren family that has ever existed. …Many have never had the least sense of family. I remember sitting down to Christmas dinner eighteen years ago in a communal house in Portland, Oregon, with about twelve others my own age, all of whom had no place they wished to go home to. That house was my first discovery of harmony and community with fellow human beings. This has been the experience of hundreds of thousands of men and women all over Amer
Discuss (50 posts) | Journal
Nov 24 · For what it truly is.... If you look at the actions, and not the words..if you ignore the style and look at the substance, the whole of the democratic party doesn't much represent the peoples' party. When you look at health care crafted around the premise of DELIBERATELY maintaining the for profit insurance companies, at the expense of the American citizens health care needs... When you look at the policies around the economic crisis, and face the wet, cold, hard slap in the face of our
Discuss (54 posts) | Journal
Nov 25 · This is an original post at Kos, but my feelings are the same for Democratic Underground. Please consider the wise words this Kossak has said and reflect on the hyperbole that's been going on around here. . On edit: many here are taking the headline as a meaning of my leaving. This is not true. It means there are people here who have failed to convince me of the validity or sincerity of many of your attacks on the President. Certainly, there is some valid criticism and that is not what t
Discuss (453 posts) | Journal
Nov 25 · In his slow decision-making, Obama goes with head, not gut By Joel Achenbach Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, November 25, 2009 President George W. Bush once boasted, "I'm not a textbook player, I'm a gut player." The new tenant of the Oval Office takes a strikingly different approach. President Obama is almost defiantly deliberative, methodical and measured, even when critics accuse him of dithering. When describing his executive style, he goes into Spock mode, saying, "You've
Discuss (30 posts) | Journal
Nov 25 · Tonight I had an encounter with a Rush Limbaugh fan. I am a political activist who has taken public stands on many occasions so I have certainly had some encounters with angry right-wingers in the past, but this time it was different. This man was not just angry, he was completely unhinged to the point that you could not help but worry that he was about to pull out a gun and go postal. Here is how it all happened... Every Tuesday I participate in a peace vigil outside the office of Congre
Discuss (115 posts) | Journal
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The Top 10 Conservative Idiots The Top 10 Conservative Idiots
Nov 15 · The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 377
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