December 2008 News History Archives

December 2008 News:

_2008 News News Reference December 2008 News
December 24, 2008 News URL: #December-24-2008-News
20081224 Wednesday

- Barack Obama - Federal - Stem Cell - Health - Money - Legislation - Politics - Colo
"Scientists eager for stem cell policy change." ... "Although [Democratic] President-elect Obama’s pledge to change federal policy on stem cell research is not likely to lead to new cures by the end of his first year — or even first term — the scientific community is eager to get moving." ... "Embryonic stem cell research is one area in which the change that Obama has promised on the campaign trail will provoke an immediate effect." ... "Once he has acted to ease the restriction on federal funding, researchers across the United States will be free to request funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to collaborate with colleagues conducting experiments with private or state-government money and those working abroad." ... "“Just with the stroke of a pen, the new president could open up new avenues of research,” said [Colorado Democratic Representative] Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.), the lead Democratic sponsor of legislation that would broaden funding for embryonic stem cell research." ... "Researchers believe embryonic stem cells can be made to replicate practically any human cell or tissue, thus leading to treatments for countless ailments." -By Jeffrey Young -TheHill.com

- Christopher Cox - Corporate - Government - Accounting - Law - Investigation - Politics
"SEC Chair Asked If He Deserves Blame For Wall Street Crisis: ‘Absolutely Not,’ It ‘Wasn’t The SEC’s Job’." ... "In a new interview with the Washington Post, embattled [Republican President Bush's] Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox stridently “defend[ed] his restrained approach to the financial crisis.” He refused to accept any blame for the Wall Street crisis or the Madoff Ponzi scheme, saying that regulating Wall Street and protecting investors “wasn’t the SEC’s job“:"

"Cox argued that the agency has carefully defined responsibilities and that it was unfair to blame it for every problem on Wall Street." ... "“The public might not understand that that wasn’t the SEC’s job,” he said, adding that the agency was not responsible for preventing investment banks from collapsing but rather for sheltering their securities trading units from problems in the broader corporation. “The SEC is not a safety and soundness regulator,” he said. [..]"

"The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation."

- Health - Military - Lawsuit - KBR - Corporate - Politics - Unsafe - Ice - IN - US - Iraq
"Soldiers Accuse KBR Of Knowingly Exposing Troops To Deadly Toxin In Iraq." ... "Controversial military contractor KBR has racked up quite a record of endangering the lives of U.S. [United States] soldiers serving in Iraq. Over the years, the former Halliburton subsidiary has been accused of everything from giving troops ice tainted with “traces of body fluids and putrefied remains” to ignoring warnings of unsafe wiring that led to troop deaths." ... "Earlier this month, attorneys for 16 members of the Indiana National Guard filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that they “knowingly exposed the soldiers to a cancer-causing toxic chemical.” In a special report last night, CBS News revealed that KBR knew of the toxic exposure to hexavalent chromium long before it informed the guardsmen:"

"Now CBS News has obtained information that indicates KBR knew about the danger months before the soldiers were ever informed." ... "Depositions from KBR employees detailed concerns about the toxin in one part of the plant as early as May of 2003. And KBR minutes, from a later meeting state “that 60 percent of the people … exhibit symptoms of exposure,” including bloody noses and rashes." ... "Gentry says it wasn’t until the last day of August in 2003 - after four long months at the facility - that he was told the plant was contaminated."

---

WATCH: "KBR Accused In Toxic Scandal" via -CBSNews

"“Look, I think the burden of proof at this point is on the company,” Bayh said. “To come forward and very forthrightly explain what happened, why we should trust them, and why the health and well-being of our soldiers should continue to be in their hands.”"

- Market - History - Ivory Coast
"Cocoa hits 23-year high on supply fears." ... "Cocoa prices on Tuesday surged to a 23-year high as speculative investors poured into the market amid concerns about dwindling supplies from Ivory Coast, by far the world’s largest producer." ... "Prices for cocoa have risen 70 per cent in the past year, bucking the weakness in overall commodities prices. " -By Javier Blas -FT.com

- Military - KBR - Corporate - Politics - Indiana - US - Iraq
"Did Contractor Expose Troops To Toxin? CBS Evening News Exclusive: American Soldiers Are Dying Of Lung Cancer - And May Have Been Knowingly Exposed." ... "The military contractor Kellogg Brown and Root, known as KBR, has won more than $28 billion in U.S. military contracts since the beginning of the Iraq war. KBR may be facing a new scandal. First, accusations its then-parent company Halliburton was given the lucrative contract. And later, allegations of shoddy construction oversight that resulted in Americans getting electrocuted. Now, some other American soldiers say the company knowingly put their lives at risk, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian and investigative producer Laura Strickler exclusively report." ... "In April of 2003, James Gentry of the Indiana National Guard arrived in Southern Iraq to take command of more than 600 other guardsmen. Their job: protect KBR contractors working at a local water plant." ... ""We didn't question what we were doing, we just knew we had to provide a security service for the KBR," said Battalion Cmdr. [Commander] Gentry." ... "Today James Gentry is dying from rare form of lung cancer. The result, he believes, of months of inhaling hexavalent chromium - an orange dust that's part of a toxic chemical found all over the plant." ... "At least one other Indiana guardsman has already died from lung cancer, and others are said to be suffering from tumors and rashes consistent with exposure to the deadly toxin." ... "Now CBS News has obtained information that indicates KBR knew about the danger months before the soldiers were ever informed." -By Armen Keteyian -CBSNews 

- Water - Technology - Company - Environment - Minnesota - Texas
"Nation's First 'Underwater Wind Turbine' Installed in Old Man River." ... "The nation's first commercial hydrokinetic turbine, which harnesses the power from moving water without the construction of a dam, has splashed into the waters of the Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota." ... "The 35-kilowatt turbine is positioned downstream from an existing hydroelectric-plant dam and — together with another turbine to be installed soon — will increase the capacity of the plant by more than 5 percent. The numbers aren't big, but the rig's installation could be the start of an important trend in green energy." ... "And that could mean more of these "wind turbines for the water" will be generating clean energy soon." ... ""We don't require that massive dam construction, we're just using the natural flow of the stream," said Mark Stover, a vice president at Hydro Green Energy, the Houston[ Texas]-based company leading the project. "It's underwater windpower if you will, but we have 840 or 850 times the energy density of wind."" ... "Hydrokinetic turbines like those produced by Hydro Green and Verdant capture the mechanical energy of the water's flow and turn it into energy, without need for a dam." ... "Hydro Green's Stover hopes that his company's new unit will help shorten that regulatory process by generating environmental impact data that could ease concerns the turbines will disrupt river ecosystems and habitats." -By Alexis Madrigal -Wired

- Corporate - Government - Accounting - Politics - New York
"AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs." ... "Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals." ... "The rewards came even at banks where poor results last year foretold the economic crisis that sent them to Washington for a government rescue. Some trimmed their executive compensation due to lagging bank performance, but still forked over multimillion-dollar executive pay packages." ... "Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found." ... "_The average paid to each of the banks' top executives was $2.6 million in salary, bonuses and benefits." ... "_Lloyd Blankfein, president and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, took home nearly $54 million in compensation last year. The company's top five executives received a total of $242 million." ... "The New York-based company on Dec. 16 reported its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999. It received $10 billion in taxpayer money on Oct. 28." ... "_John A. Thain, chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, topped all corporate bank bosses with $83 million in earnings last year." ... "Like Goldman, Merrill got $10 billion from taxpayers on Oct. 28." -By Frank Bass and Rita Beamish -AP via -Yahoo

- Working - People - Economics - Education - Safety - Enforcement - Politics - Maryland
"Squeezed on All Sides, Parents Forgo Day Care: Education, Safety Sacrificed in Fiscal Crunch." ... "In the [Maryland's] Prince George's County community of Riverdale Park, town officials have noted a distressing sign of the national economic downturn: more children left home alone to fend for themselves by working parents too strapped to afford child care." ... "The problem was discovered by code enforcement officers who inspect apartments in the town of 7,000. They used to come across such cases once every couple of years. Then, six months ago, they found one child left alone, followed by another and another." ... "In one instance, a kindergarten-age girl was found hiding in a closet, apparently because she was scared, code enforcement officers said. In another, children aged 10 or 12 were missing school to watch their younger siblings." ... "Riverdale's experience comes amid an increasing economic strain in child care across the Washington [Washington DC, United States capital] region. In an area known for day-care waiting lists, many operators report a rise in vacancies as parents withdraw their children or cut back on hours because they can no longer afford the cost." ... "The phenomenon is not universal, but it has struck in many middle- and working-class areas as lost jobs, reduced work schedules and foreclosed homes affect families with few reserves." (1, 2, 3) -By Donna St. George -WashingtonPost

- Fashion - Politics - Journalist - Investigators - US - Iraq - Turkey
"‘Bush Shoe’ Gives Firm a Footing in the Market." ... "When a pair of black leather oxfords hurled at [Republican] President Bush in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] produced a gasp heard around the world, a Turkish cobbler had a different reaction: They were his shoes." ... "“We have been producing that specific style, which I personally designed, for 10 years, so I couldn’t have missed it, no way,” said Ramazan Baydan, a shoemaker in Istanbul [Turkey]. “As a shoemaker, you understand.”" ... "Although his assertion has been impossible to verify — cobblers from Lebanon, China and Iraq have also staked claims to what is quickly becoming some of the most famous footwear in the world — orders for Mr. Baydan’s shoes, formerly known as Ducati Model 271 and since renamed “The Bush Shoe,” have poured in from around the world." ... "For now, Mr. Baydan’s customers will have to take his word for it. The journalist who launched the shoes at a news conference a week ago, Muntader al-Zaidi, 29, was wrestled to the ground by guards and has not been seen in public since. Explosives tests by investigators destroyed the offending footwear." -By Sebnem Arsu -NYTimes

- Christopher Cox - Corporate - Government - Accounting - Law - Enforcement - Politics
"Who's Mess Is the S.E.C.? News Analysis: In his extraordinary mea culpa over the Madoff scandal, [Republican President Bush's Securities and Exchange Commission] S.E.C. chairman Christopher Cox accepted full blame...on behalf of his staff. But isn't he in charge?" ... "When Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox made an extraordinary apology for the agency having failed to follow up on clear evidence of wrongdoing by suspected financial fraudster Bernard Madoff, he excluded one key player from blame: himself." ... "In the public statement on Tuesday, Cox laid out a blistering attack on his staff, while appearing to exonerate himself from any responsibility." ... "He said the agency's most senior officials learned only a week ago that "credible and specific allegations regarding Mr. Madoff's financial wrongdoing, going back to at least 1999, were repeatedly brought to the attention of S.E.C. staff, but were never recommended to the Commission for action."" ... ""I am gravely concerned," Cox added, "by the apparent multiple failures over at least a decade to thoroughly investigate these allegations or at any point to seek formal authority [from the commission] to pursue them."" ... "Cox's decision to distance himself from the staffs' performance has rankled former senior S.E.C. officials who had nothing to do with the Madoff inquiries." ... "The S.E.C. is structured so that the chairman personally is in charge of the staff, these former agency officials said; he is in effect the agency's C.E.O. [Chief Executive Officer], with division heads reporting directly to him, and he makes decisions about staff appointments and allocation of resources." ... "As Condé Nast Portfolio magazine reported in its October issue, Cox took steps to weaken and hamstring the enforcement division." ... "He slowed down and delayed approval when staff members did ask for formal authority to investigate, and pressed the agency to focus more on penny-stock scams, boiler-room operations, and other relatively petty crimes. S.E.C. veterans said this detracted from efforts to pursue major Wall Street frauds." -By Scot Paltrow -Portfolio.com

- Chris Cox - Corporate - Government - Accounting - Law - Enforcement - Politics - California - New York
"Cox "Worked to Dismantle The SEC," Says Commission Vet." ... "In recent years, particularly under [Republican President Bush's Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris] Cox, a former California GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] congressman, the SEC has pursued a policy of de-emphasizing enforcement, part of the broader anti-regulatory philosophy of the Bush years -- helping to make Madoff, and perhaps others like him, possible." ... ""[Cox] in many ways worked to dismantle the SEC," Ed Nordlinger, a former longtime enforcement director in the commission's New York office, told TPMmuckraker. "He slowed everything down. I don't think he believed in heavy regulation."" ... "That view has been echoed by several others in a position to know. Ross Albert told TPMmuckraker for a post published yesterday: "Under Cox, SEC had de-emphasized the enforcement program. Cox worshipped at the same altar of de-regulation that the rest of the Bush administration worshipped at."" ... "And a former enforcement division supervisor told Portfolio for a lengthy October story about the SEC under Cox: "It was like someone poured molasses on the enforcement division."" ... "The commission also appears to have passed over for promotion staff members who were too aggressive in their approach to enforcement. Veteran S.E.C. lawyer James Coffman told Portfolio that he was told he didn't get a promotion because he was "too tough." He left the SEC soon after." -By Zachary Roth -TPMMuckracker .TalkingPointsMemo

- US - Iraq - Torture - Investigation - Reporter - Fashion - Politics
"Iraqi shoe-thrower 'was beaten': The investigating judge in the case of the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at US [Republican] President George W Bush says the man shows signs of having been beaten." ... "The judge, who saw Muntader al-Zaidi this week, said the journalist had bruises on his face and about his eyes." ... "He said Mr Zaidi was beaten while still at the news conference, in the immediate aftermath of the incident." ... "The court is investigating the beating and officials will watch recordings of the incident, he added." ... "It is still not clear, though, whether Muntader al-Zaidi's injuries were sustained only when security forces wrestled him to the ground, or in custody as well." ... "One of his brothers said the journalist had broken ribs and injuries to his arm too." ... "Muntader al-Zaidi has been in detention since throwing his shoes at President Bush on Sunday during a news conference with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki. " -By Caroline Wyatt -BBC/News

- Chris Cox - Money - Accounting - Politics - New York
"Paul Krugman: The Madoff economy." ... "The pay system on Wall Street lavishly rewards the appearance of profit, even if that appearance later turns out to have been an illusion." ... "Consider the hypothetical example of a money manager who leverages up his clients' money with lots of debt, then invests the bulked-up total in high-yielding but risky assets, such as dubious mortgage-backed securities. For a while - say, as long as a housing bubble continues to inflate - he (it's almost always a he) will make big profits and receive big bonuses. Then, when the bubble bursts and his investments turn into toxic waste, his investors will lose big - but he'll keep those bonuses." ... "We're talking about a lot of money. In recent years the finance sector accounted for 8 percent of America's GDP [Gross Domestic Product], up from less than 5 percent a generation earlier. If that extra 3 percent was money for nothing - and it probably was - we're talking about $400 billion a year in waste, fraud and abuse. But the costs of America's Ponzi era surely went beyond the direct waste of dollars and cents." ... "At the crudest level, Wall Street's ill-gotten gains corrupted and continue to corrupt politics, in a nicely bipartisan way. From [Republican President] Bush administration officials like Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who looked the other way as evidence of financial fraud mounted, to Democrats who still haven't closed the outrageous tax loophole that benefits executives at hedge funds and private equity firms (hello, [New York Democratic] Senator Schumer), politicians have walked when money talked." -By Paul Krugman -IHT.com

- Corporate - Government - Investigators - Politics - Accounting - Consumer
"Madoff misled SEC in '06, got off." ... "Securities and Exchange Commission investigators discovered in 2006 that Bernard Madoff had misled the agency about how he managed customer money, according to documents, yet the SEC missed an opportunity to uncover an alleged Ponzi scheme." ... "The documents indicate the agency had Madoff in its sights amid multiple violations that, if pursued, could have blown open his alleged multibillion-dollar scam. Instead, his firm registered as an investment adviser, at the agency's request, and the public got no word of the violations." ... "Harry Markopolos - who once worked for a Madoff rival - sparked the probe with his nearly decadelong campaign to persuade the SEC that Madoff's returns were too good to be true. In recent days, The Wall Street Journal reviewed emails, letters and other documents that Markopolos shared with the SEC over the years." ... "When he first began studying Madoff's investment performance a decade ago, Markopolos told a colleague at the time, "It doesn't make any damn sense," he and the colleague recall. "This has to be a Ponzi scheme."" -By Gregory Zuckerman -WSJ.com via -GreenwichTime.com

- Dick Cheney - Criminal - Torture - War Crimes - Prisons - Law - Military - Intelligence - Politics - Corporate - Media - US - Iraq
"If Bush and Cheney Commit War Crimes and Everyone Knows It, But Does Nothing, Are They Still Crimes?" ... "As Jon Ponder noted here on Tuesday, a bi-partisan U.S. [United States] Senate panel has found [PDF] that [Republican President] George W. Bush was responsible for approving War Crimes (torture and abuse) at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, [Republican Vice President] Dick Cheney admitted in a recent interview to helping to approve War Crimes (torture and abuse) in interrogations, and the corporate media --- with the lone exception of MSNBC --- have been virtually as silent on what may be the most offensive crimes ever committed by an Executive Branch in the U.S. as they were during the lead-up to and follow-through on the War on Iraq, when those same officials sent our nation into war on the basis of demonstrable lies." ... "George Washington University's highly-respected constitutional law professor Jonathon Turley, noting the War Crimes now known and admitted to by Bush and Cheney, asked Keith Olbermann Tuesday night, "If someone commits a crime and everyone's around to see it and does nothing, is it still a crime?"" ... "During the discussion, Turley mentioned --- no less than three different times --- that it'll be up to the citizens whether or not any action is actually taken to prosecute those who committed these crimes." ... ""It will ultimately depend on citizens, and whether they will remain silent in the face of a crime that's been committed in plain view," Turley suggested. "It is equally immoral to stand silent in the face of a war crime and do nothing, and that is what the citizens are doing."" ... "He went on to argue: "There's this gigantic yawn as we hear about a war crime on national television being discussed matter-of-factly by the Vice President."" -By Brad Friedman -BradBlog.com

- Barack Obama - Gay - Politics - Religion - Book - People - Children - Girls - Schools - US - Pakistan - Palestine - British - Soviet - Military - History
"Three Cups of Tea for Rick Warren." ... "Rick Warren is providing the invocation for the [Democratic President Elect Barack Obama's] presidential inauguration. As a pastor whose books have been read by tens of millions of Americans and whose voice is respected by an equal or larger number, he has tremendous influence and power. And as an open homophobe who aggressively works to wound gay people in this country (as well as pretty much anybody else who doesn’t believe with his own particular and peculiar recently-invented version of Christian theology) he should be the guy with the bull’s-eye on his back for the progressive movement." ... "But consider that metaphor for a moment. In Pakistan there are entire regions filled with people who not only hate gays but hate Americans as well, regardless of religion. We've tried bombing them (as the Soviets did, and the British before them). Three consecutive Western empires have tried threatening them, starving them, poisoning them, infiltrating them, and overpowering them - all without success." ... "And then Greg Mortenson came to one of their villages, had three cups of tea with them (a metaphor for hospitality - they nursed him back to health after a mountain climbing injury - and the title of his best-selling book), and now in dozens of these formerly Taliban-controlled villages the people are rejecting the Taliban, embracing modernity, and openly proclaiming themselves as our friends." ... "His "weapon" for this conversion? He built schools for their children, particularly their previously-banned-from-school girls." ... "We pushed the Palestinians on the West Bank to have open and democratic elections, assuming that because they were using the tool of our culture (the secret ballot) they’d vote in people reflecting the values of our culture. Instead, they voted in Hamas, a group that is openly hostile to us and our allies. Hamas’ “weapon” for winning the hearts and minds of the Palestinians? They supported schools, hospitals, and fed and clothed people." ... "You’d think that we’d have learned from these experiences - particularly those of us who call ourselves “progressives” - that you get your desired results faster when you embrace, engage, and nurture your “enemies” than when you physically or rhetorically bomb them." ... "Barack Obama has learned that lesson, and is applying it in inviting Rick Warren to perform the invocation for his inauguration. In doing so, he is reaching out a hand to those who today are - out of fear and ignorance - pushing away gays the same way their intellectual ancestors pushed away African Americans when anti-miscegenation laws were supported by most of these same “fundamentalist” Christian churches in the 1950s and 1960s." -By Thom Hartmann -ThomHartmann.com

- Poll - Financial - Consumer - Job - Rent - Federal - Debt - History
"New Poll Shows 63% Are Already Hurt by Downturn." ... "The deepening recession has eroded the financial standing and optimism of a broad swath of Americans, nearly two-thirds of whom say that they have been hurt by the downturn and that the country has slipped into long-term economic decline." ... "A new Washington Post-ABC News poll also found that a rapidly increasing share of Americans -- 66 percent, up from just over half a year ago -- are worried about maintaining their standard of living. Nearly two in 10 said they or someone living in their household had lost a job in the past few months, and more than a quarter said they had their pay or hours reduced. And 15 percent said that at some point in the past year they fell behind on their rent or mortgage." ... "The poll captures the widening fallout from the faltering economy that policymakers are struggling to contain. The Federal Reserve yesterday cut its target for the federal funds rate to a range of zero to 0.25 percent, the lowest on record." ... "The poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans support new federal spending to stimulate the economy, and majorities of both Democrats and Republicans back the idea." ... "Twenty-four percent approve of the way [Republican] President Bush is handling the economy, and a similarly paltry 23 percent approve of the broader federal response to the crisis." ... "Democrats, Republicans and independents alike are highly critical of the federal action to address the crisis -- among each group, more than seven in 10 disapprove. In part, the criticisms stem from skepticism that the government has put in place adequate controls to avoid waste and fraud in the use of federal money in the economic recovery effort." (1, 2) -By Michael A. Fletcher and Jon Cohen with contributions by Jennifer Agiesta -WashingtonPost

- Auto - Makers - Michigan
"Chrysler to shut assembly lines for at least a month: Rival Ford takes similar steps, extending shutdown times at most plants." ... "Automakers typically close their factories for a couple of weeks over the two weeks during holidays and often, as in Ford's case, target specific plants for even longer idle periods to keep a lid on inventory during times of slack demand. Yet Chrysler's move to idle its entire operation for at least a month reflects just how dire the situation is in Detroit [Michigan]." ... ""This is definitely out of the ordinary," Edmunds.com analyst Jesse Toprak said. "I've never seen this kind of shutdown for this long, and if you read the language Chrysler used in the release, they're leaving the door open for another extension."" -By Shawn Langlois -MarketWatch

- Russia - Human - Rights - Politics - History
"Rights activists denounce Russian treason bill: They say legislation backed by Putin is 'in the spirit of Stalin and Hitler'." ... "Rights activists Wednesday denounced new legislation backed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that would allow Russian authorities to label any government critic a traitor, calling it a chilling throwback to times of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin." ... "The bill, which is expected to become law, would expand the definition of treason to include damaging Russia's constitutional order, sovereignty or territorial integrity. That, activists said, would essentially let authorities interpret any act against the state as treason — a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison." ... ""It returns the Russian justice to the times of 1920-1950s," the activists, which included Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alexeyeva and Civic Assistance director Svetlana Gannushkina, said in a joint statement." ... "Alexeyeva said a person who reports government abuses to an NGO — for example Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch — could be deemed to have harmed Russia's interests." ... "During Putin's eight-year presidency, the government has systematically rolled back Russia's post-Soviet political freedoms and that has shown no signs of stopping under Putin's successor and protege, Dmitry Medvedev." -AP via -MSNBC

- Corporate - Government - Law - Politics
"U.S. Congress to probe SEC role in Madoff affair." ... "A U.S. [United States] House of Representatives panel plans to convene an inquiry in January into the failure of securities regulators to unearth an alleged $50 billion securities fraud by Wall Street veteran Bernard Madoff, a key lawmaker said on Wednesday." ... "The Securities and Exchange Commission has come under fire for not uncovering the scandal until senior employees of Madoff went to authorities." ... "The agency, chaired by [Republican President Bush's Securities and Exchange Commission chairman] Christopher Cox, has been accused of missing a number of red flags about the way Madoff operated his investment business." ... "Cox, a Republican, said he was gravely concerned about the SEC's failure to examine Madoff's activities, which were flagged going back to at least 1999 and repeatedly brought to the attention of SEC staff but never recommended for commission action." ... "Madoff's niece, Shana Madoff, a compliance lawyer at Madoff's firm, is married to a former SEC lawyer, Eric Swanson, who was the agency's assistant director in the office of compliance inspections and examinations." ... "SEC compliance chief Lori Richards said Swanson was a member of an examination team that looked into Madoff's broker-dealer business in 1999 and 2004." -By John Poirier and Rachelle Younglai with contributions by Kevin Drawbaugh, Karey Wutkowski, Andre Grenon and John Wallace -Reuters via  -Guardian.co.uk

- Government - Market - Politics - US_Debt - Technology - Housing
"Fed unleashes greatest bubble of all." ... "Like the sorcerer’s apprentice, [Republican President Bush's] Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his predecessor Alan Greenspan have unleashed a series of ever-larger asset bubbles they cannot control." ... "Now the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates to between zero and 0.25 percent, coupled with a promise to keep them there for an extended period, and the threat to conduct even more unconventional operations in the longer-dated Treasury market risks the biggest bubble of all, this time in U.S. government debt." ... "THE ASYMMETRIC EXPERIMENT" ... "Bubble mania is no accident. It is the direct consequence of the Fed’s asymmetric response to shifts in asset prices. Pressed to “lean against the wind” and adopt counter-cyclical interest rate and credit policies in the asset market, senior Fed policymakers have repeatedly demurred." ... "Led by Bernanke and Greenspan, officials have argued it is too hard and subjective to identify bubbles until afterwards, and not the Fed’s job to second-guess asset allocation decisions of professional investors." ... "Even if bubbles could be identified, they argue, pricking them would require swingeing rate rises that would inflict widespread damage on the rest of the economy." ... "Far less damaging to allow asset markets to follow their natural cycle and stand by to cut interest rates sharply, supply liquidity and contain the fallout when the bubble bursts." ... "But the Fed’s asymmetric policy response to rising and falling asset prices (colloquially known as the “Greenspan/Bernanke put”) directly led to much of the excessive risk-taking which has humbled the financial system over the last eighteen months." ... "More importantly, the Fed’s decision to respond to the collapse of the technology and stock market bubble by lowering rates to 1 percent and holding them there for an extended period is now widely accepted as a mistake that contributed to the bond bubble and subsequent housing market boom in the middle of the decade." ... "If the low-rate strategy was a mistake, it was a conscious one." -By John Kemp-Reuters

- Dick Cheney - Torture - War Crimes - Criminal - Terrorism - Intelligence - Politics - Military - Prison - Law - US - Guantanamo_Bay - Cuba
"Cheney was key in clearing CIA interrogation tactics: The vice president [Republican Dick Cheney] says that the use of waterboarding was appropriate and that the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should stay open until 'the end of the war on terror.'" ... "[Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that he was directly involved in approving severe interrogation methods used by the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], and that the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should remain open indefinitely." ... "Cheney's comments also mark the first time that he has acknowledged playing a central role in clearing the CIA's use of an array of controversial interrogation tactics, including a simulated drowning method known as waterboarding." ... ""I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News." ... "Asked whether he still believes it was appropriate to use the waterboarding method on terrorism suspects, Cheney said: "I do."" ... "His comments come on the heels of disclosures by a Senate committee showing that high-level officials in the [Republican President] Bush administration were intimately involved in reviewing and approving interrogation methods that have since been explicitly outlawed and that have been condemned internationally as torture." -By Greg Miller -LAtimes

- Jim DeMint - Bob Corker - Richard Shelby - Mitch McConnell - Foreign - Money - Politics - Construction - Auto - Makers - Government - Emergency - Legislation - Labor - Michigan - California - South Carolina - Alabama - Tennessee - Kentucky - German - Japanese - South Korean
"Foreign Auto Makers Won Billions in Government Subsidies: Southern States Gave [Foreign] Auto Companies Tax-breaks and Cash for Training." ... "To hear Southern Republicans tell the story, the financial burdens facing Detroit’s automakers are self-made troubles to be settled by the laws of Adam-Smith capitalism." ... "“We don’t think it is the role of government to intervene,” [South Carolina Republican Senator] Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C. [Republican-South Carolina]) told the Fox Business Network last week. “We need to let the market and the laws work the way they are already in place.”" ... "Yet this argument — that the government has no business interfering in free markets — ignores an increasingly frequent tradition among Southern states, which have fronted billions in local taxpayer dollars in the past two decades to attract foreign auto plants. Those incentives, arriving in the form of tax breaks, training for new employees and even land, have enticed [German automaker Bayerische Motoren Werke] BMW to South Carolina, [German automaker] Mercedes to Alabama and [Japanese automaker] Nissan to Tennessee. The result of the government subsidies has been the steady emergence of the South as an auto-manufacturing powerhouse. Some are dubbing it the “New Detroit” –  a region where real estate is cheap and the labor’s not unionized." ... "Not coincidentally, these Southern states are represented by the same coalition of GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] senators who led the fight against the recent Detroit [Michigan] bailout proposal. That legislation would have provided $14 billion in emergency bridge loans to General Motors and Chrysler, both of which say they lack the finances to survive the month. Rallying behind the animated opposition of GOP [Republican Senators] Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.[Tennessee]), Richard Shelby (Ala.[Alabama]), Mitch McConnell (Ky.[Kentucky) and South Carolina’s DeMint, Senate Republicans killed the legislation." ... "On Friday, the day following the Senate vote, Shelby told CNBC that if the Big Three had only managed their business operations as well as the foreign companies, known as transplants, they wouldn’t be scrambling now for a taxpayer-funded bailout." ... "“You look at the South,” Shelby said. “You take — not just Mercedes in my hometown — but BMW, Honda and all of them. These companies are flourishing with American workers made in America.”" ... "But the flourishing of the transplants didn’t come without significant taxpayer help. Shelby’s Alabama, for example, secured construction of a [German automaker] Mercedes-Benz plant in 1993 by offering $253 million in state and local tax breaks, worker training and land improvement. For [Japanese automaker] Honda, the state’s sweetener surrounding a 1999 deal to build a mini-van plant was $158 million in similar perks, adding $90 million in enticements when the company expanded the plant three years later. A 2001 deal with [Japanese automaker] Toyota left the company with $29 million in taxpayer gifts." ... "Alabama is hardly alone. Corker’s Tennessee recently lured [German automaker] Volkswagen to build a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga [Tennessee], offering the German automaker tax breaks, training and land preparation that could total $577 million. In 2005, the state inspired Nissan to relocate its headquarters from southern California by offering $197 million in incentives, including $20 million in utility savings." ... "In 1992, South Carolina snagged a BMW plant for $150 million in giveaways. In Mississippi in 2003, Nissan was lured with $363 million. In Georgia, a still-under-construction [South Korean automaker] Kia plant received breaks estimated to be $415 million. The list goes on." -By Mike Lillis -WashingtonIndependent.com

- Mitch McConnell - Bob Corker - Richard Shelby - Foreign - Money - Government - Politics - Auto - Makers - Working - People - Kentucky - Tennessee - Alabama - Michigan - US
"Do Southern Senators Really Want to Start a New War Between the States?" ... "When my Southern pals used to say "The South is gonna rise again," I doubt this is what they had in mind: A cadre of Southern [Republican] Senators, heavily financed by foreign automakers and special interests, declaring war on the American Dream of good wages and decent benefits. When did they decide that hard-working people trying to make a better life for themselves are the enemy?" ... "These Senators may want to think twice. Southern states have been benefiting from Northern taxes for years. If they start another War Between the States, the Federal gravy train might suddenly stop at the Mason-Dixon line." ... "Studies by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation have consistently shown that these Senators' states receive far more from the Federal government than they pay back in taxes. That's an irony that could lead to some Blue State bitterness: They love to preach about fiscal responsibility and lower taxes, but they keep dipping their beak into the Federal trough." ... "I believe the applicable Southern phrase is "a handful of gimme and a mouthful of much obliged."" ... "The numbers in [PDF] the Foundation's most recent study (warning: pdf) speak for themselves: [Kentucky Republican Senator] Mitch McConnell's Kentucky took in $1.45 from the Feds for every dollar it paid in taxes. That's a 45 cent free ride. [Tennessee Republican Senator] Bob Corker's Tennessee received at 30-cent Federal giveaway. And [Alabama Republican Senator] Richard Shelby's Alabama extracted a whopping 71-cent subsidy from Northern taxpayers." ... "What about Michigan? They lost 31 cents for every dollar they paid. In other words, McConnell, Shelby, and Corker have been skimming a percentage off these autoworkers' taxes for years on behalf of their constituents. Now, when the same Michigan taxpayers need help, these Senators are telling them to get lost." -By RJ Eskow -HuffingtonPost.com

- Corporate - Government - Christmas - Debt - History - Accounting - Politics - Homeowners - Auto - Military - Space
"Bailout payout tops $8 trillion." ... "As the holiday season commences, it’s worth taking stock of the last gift that [Republican] President George W. Bush and the 110th Congress have left for U.S. [United States] taxpayers." ... "It’s a package of about $8.7 trillion dollars’ worth of potential taxpayer commitments for loans, guarantees and other bailout goodies for businesses and distressed homeowners." ... "Amid the tissue paper:" ... "• More than $1.5 trillion in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. [Corporation] loan guarantees, including a $139 billion assist to the lending arm of General Electric Corp." ... "• $1.8 trillion in cash, tax breaks and loan guarantees doled out from the Treasury Department to taxpayers, financial institutions and credit companies." ... "• $300 billion for homeowners from the Federal Housing Authority." ... "• $25 billion in assistance for auto companies from a program overseen by the Energy Department, which is separate from the bailout proposal that tanked last week in the Senate." ... "• And $5 trillion worth of new money, loan guarantees and loosened lending requirements from the Federal Reserve Bank." ... "According to Bianco Research President James Bianco, who crunched these numbers, that amounts to more government aid and assistance than nine other historic bailouts and big government outlays combined." ... "The New Deal, for instance, cost an estimated $32 billion in its day, which would be about $500 billion in today’s dollars. The Marshall Plan cost about $12.7 billion, which is the equivalent of a paltry $115.3 billion. The Louisiana Purchase? The French got $15 million, which would be worth about $217 billion today." ... "If you take those three items, add in the adjusted costs of the Race to the Moon, the savings and loan crisis, the Korean War, the Iraq war, the Vietnam War and assistance for NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration ], you still get to just $3.92 trillion — not even half of the taxpayers’ exposure today, according to Bianco." -By Jeanne Cummings -Politico.com via -AP

- Global - Climate - History - Earth - Fossil Fuel - Gases - Antarctic - Pacific Ocean - US - Britain
"NASA reports 2008 is ninth warmest year since 1880." ... "The year 2008 was the ninth warmest year since instrumental temperature measurements began in 1880, and all of the nine warmest years have occurred in the past 11 years, NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] reported on Tuesday." ... "The new data from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and other government agencies on Tuesday adds to the evidence scientists have been observing about a warming Earth as fossil fuel burning emits heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere." ... "NASA also reported that the January to November global temperature was 0.76 degrees Fahrenheit above the average for the 20th Century." ... "NASA also noted that the past year was cooler than any since 2000. Scientists note that global warming is a steady trend, but within it there are natural variations." ... "The NASA report noted that "Eurasia, the Arctic and the Antarctic Peninsula were exceptionally warm, while much of the Pacific Ocean was cooler than the long-term average." It said the relatively cooler temperature in the tropical Pacific was due to a La Nina, the cool phase of a natural temperature variation." ... "Britain's Met Office on Tuesday also said that La Nina was part of the reason 2008 was slightly cooler than earlier years this decade. By Britain's accounting, 2008 was the 10th warmest year on record dating back to 1850, and all 10 of the warmest years occurred since 1997." -By Renee Schoof -McClatchyDC.com

- Corporate - Employees - New York - Texas - US - Worldwide
"Goldman Sachs’s Tax Rate Drops to 1%, or $14 Million (Update1) ." ... "Goldman Sachs Group Inc. [Incorporated], which got $10 billion and debt guarantees from the U.S. [United States] government in October, expects to pay $14 million in taxes worldwide for 2008 compared with $6 billion in 2007." ... "The company’s effective income tax rate dropped to 1 percent from 34.1 percent, New York-based Goldman Sachs said today in a statement. The firm reported a $2.3 billion profit for the year after paying $10.9 billion in employee compensation and benefits." ... "U.S. [Texas Democratic] Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat who serves on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said steps by Goldman Sachs and other banks shifting income to countries with lower taxes is cause for concern." ... "“This problem is larger than Goldman Sachs,” Doggett said. “With the right hand out begging for bailout money, the left is hiding it offshore.”" -By Christine Harper -Bloomberg

- China - US - British - Hong Kong - Taiwan - Foreign - Language - Websites - Police - Law - Journalists - Radio - Sports
"China 'bans BBC Chinese website': China appears to have banned a number of foreign websites, including the [United Kingdom's British Broadcasting Corporation] BBC's Chinese language news site and Voice of America in Chinese." ... "The sites had been unblocked after journalists attending the Beijing [China's capital] Olympics complained that the government was censoring sites deemed sensitive." ... "The BBC expressed disappointment at the apparent reinstatement of the ban." ... "But a Chinese government spokesman told journalists that some sites contained content that violated Chinese law." ... "Among the other sites blocked are Asiaweek, Reporters Without Borders and some Hong Kong and Taiwan sites." ... "China imposes strict controls on the dissemination of information through the web, employing teams of people to remove sensitive content, police bloggers and remove access to certain sites." ... "In a statement, the BBC said it was disappointed that Chinese-speaking audiences in China were denied access to BBCChinese.com." ... "It said that except during the 2008 Games, the website had been blocked since its inception nearly a decade ago, and Mandarin radio broadcasts had been "subject to persistent frequency interference for decades"." -BBC/News

- US - Iraq - Religious - Fashion
"Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult: Around the Arab world, if you want to escalate a situation, by saying for example "I'm going to thump you", add the words "with a shoe" and you're adding serious insult to the threat of possible injury." ... "It's that cultural significance that has added real sting to the assault by an Iraqi journalist against US [United States Republican] President George W Bush at a Baghdad [Iraq's capital] news conference." ... "In Arab culture it's considered rude even to display the sole of one's shoe to a fellow human being." ... "Certainly, crossing one's legs ankle-on-knee style should never be done in a public place for fear of offending the person next to you." ... "The sensitivity is related to the fact shoes are considered ritually unclean in the Muslim faith." ... "In addition to ritual ablutions before prayer, Muslims must take off their shoes to pray, and wearing shoes inside a mosque is forbidden." ... "Shoes should either be left at the door of the mosque, or carried (preferably in the left hand with the soles pressed together)." ... "But beyond the Islamic significance, the dirty and degrading implication of the sole of a shoe crosses all religious boundaries in the Middle East. " -By Martin Asser -BBC/News

- Business - Politics - Election - Auto - Manufacturing - Law - California - Mich - Ohio
"Auto bailout's death seen as a Republican blow at unions: For some Senate Republicans, a vote against the [American auto manufacturing] bailout was a vote against the United Auto Workers, and against organized labor in general." ... ""Handing a defeat to labor and its Democratic allies in Congress was also seen as a preemptive strike in what is expected to be a major battle for the new Congress in January: the unions' bid for a so-called card check law that would make it easier for them to organize workers, potentially reversing decades of declining power. The measure is strongly opposed by business groups." ... ""This is the Democrats' first opportunity to pay off organized labor after the election," read an e-mail circulated Wednesday among Senate Republicans. "This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it." ... "One major car dealer said conservatives let political ideology get in the way of protecting the country's interests." ... ""Being a Republican myself, I feel very betrayed by the Republican Party right now," said Beau Boeckmann, vice president of Galpin Motors Inc. in North Hills [California]. Galpin has the nation's largest Ford dealership as well as lots where it sells eight other foreign and domestic brands." ... "[Michigan Democratic Representative] Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.[ Democratic-Michigan]), a labor ally, said Friday that Republican senators who opposed the bailout might have "wanted to crush a longtime political rival, the United Auto Workers," without concern for the economic consequences." ... "[Ohio Democratic Senator] Sen. Sherrod Brown (D[Democratic]-Ohio) characterized the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] opposition as "class-warfare assault by the Republicans."" ... ""They never ask about banker salaries. . . . They never asked they give money back," he said." (1, 2) -By Jim Puzzanghera with contributions by Ken Bensinger -LAtimes

- US - Iraq - Reconstruction - Money - Politics - Foreign - Production - Accounting - Investigations - Federal - History - Military - Law
"Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders." ... "An unpublished, 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure." ... "The history, the first official account of its kind, is circulating in draft form here and in Washington among a tight circle of technical reviewers, policy experts and senior officials. It also concludes that when the reconstruction began to lag — particularly in the critical area of rebuilding the Iraqi police and army — the Pentagon simply put out inflated measures of progress to cover up the failures." ... "In one passage, for example, [Republican President Bush's] former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is quoted as saying that in the months after the 2003 invasion, the Defense Department "kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces — the number would jump 20,000 a week! 'We now have 80,000, we now have 100,000, we now have 120,000.'"" ... "Mr. Powell's assertion that the Pentagon inflated the number of competent Iraqi security forces is backed up by [Lieutenant General] Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the former commander of ground troops in Iraq, and L. Paul Bremer III, the top civilian administrator until an Iraqi government took over in June 2004." ... "Among the overarching conclusions of the history is that five years after embarking on its largest foreign reconstruction project since the Marshall Plan in Europe after World War II, the United States government has in place neither the policies and technical capacity nor the organizational structure that would be needed to undertake such a program on anything approaching this scale." ... "The bitterest message of all for the reconstruction program may be the way the history ends. The hard figures on basic services and industrial production compiled for the report reveal that for all the money spent and promises made, the rebuilding effort never did much more than restore what was destroyed during the invasion and the convulsive looting that followed." ... "By mid-2008, the history says, $117 billion had been spent on the reconstruction of Iraq, including some $50 billion in United States taxpayer money." ... "Five years after the invasion of Iraq, the history concludes, "the government as a whole has never developed a legislatively sanctioned doctrine or framework for planning, preparing and executing contingency operations in which diplomacy, development and military action all figure."" ... "Titled "Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience," the new history was compiled by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, led by Stuart W. Bowen Jr., a Republican lawyer who regularly travels to Iraq and has a staff of engineers and auditors based here." ... "The manuscript is based on approximately 500 new interviews, as well as more than 600 audits, inspections and investigations on which Mr. Bowen's office has reported individually over the years. Laid out for the first time in a connected history, the material forms the basis for broad judgments on the entire rebuilding program." ... "In the preface, Mr. Bowen gives a searing critique of what he calls the "blinkered and disjointed prewar planning for Iraq's reconstruction" and the botched expansion of the program from a modest initiative to improve Iraqi services to a multibillion-dollar enterprise." -By T. Christian Miller and James Glanz -ProPublica.org -NYTimes

- Bob Corker - Richard Shelby - Jim DeMint - Mitch McConnell - Foreign - Money - Politicians - Auto - Makers - Michigan - US - Workers - Emergency - Law - Tennessee - Alabama - Kentucky - South Carolina - Georgia - Japanese - German - South Korean
"Meet the GOP's [Republican's] wrecking crew: Why did a small group of Southern Republicans turn the auto bailout into a demolition derby? Introducing the senators who hate unions and love foreign cars." ... "On July 15, [Tennessee Republican Senator] Bob Corker was a happy man." ... ""I cannot think of a more exciting day, even more so than Election Night, for me," the Republican senator from Tennessee said in a conference call that day. The reason for his elation was the announcement that [German automaker] Volkswagen, lured by up to $500 million worth of incentives from the state government, had agreed to build a $1 billion plant near Chattanooga, Tenn. [Tennessee.] That is, not just in his home state, but in the suburbs of the city he once served as mayor." ... "Add VW [Volkwagen] to [Japan automaker] Nissan, which already has two plants and its North American headquarters in Tennessee, and you begin to see why Corker was so aggressive this month about trying to block -- or at least dramatically rewrite -- a proposal to float billions of dollars in emergency loans to domestic automakers. Most of the focus during this debate has been on lawmakers who represent Michigan, the home of the Big Three -- Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. But Corker represents the other side of the coin: Tennessee and other Southern states have recently come to depend on foreign automakers and their non-union factories. If you're from those parts, what's good for American car companies may no longer be what's good for the country -- because your economy now depends on their foreign competitors instead." ... "Expect to hear more not just from the very vocal Bob Corker, but from the rest of a core group of Southern senators whose bread is buttered by the Japanese, Germans and Koreans. Here's a guide to the major players."

"[Alabama Republican Senator] Richard Shelby, R-Ala. [Republican-Alabama]"
"Foreign auto plants: [German automaker] Mercedes-Benz, [South Korean automaker] Hyundai, [Japanese automaker] Honda"

"[South Carolina Republican Senator] Jim DeMint, R-S.C. [Republican-South Carolina]"
"Foreign auto plants: [German automaker] BMW [Bayerische Motoren Werke]"

"[Kentucky Republican Senator] Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. [Republican-Kentucky]"
"Foreign auto plants: [Japanese automaker] Toyota"

"[Tennessee Republican Senator] Bob Corker, R-Tenn. [Republican-Tennessee]"
"Foreign auto plants: Two [Japanese automaker] Nissan plants, as well as the company's U.S. [United States] headquarters; [German automaker] Volkswagen will open near Chattanooga [Tennessee] in 2011"

"As mayor of Chattanooga, he [Corker] reportedly conceived the idea for the site that will soon become home to the [German automaker] Volkswagen plant, and was instrumental in its development. He organized efforts to lure [Japanese automaker] Toyota to the area, and when that failed, he had VW execs [executives] and other top state politicians over to his house for dinner." ... "Georgia's two Republican senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isaakson, both voted against the plan as well. Their state has a big [South Korean automaker] Kia factory coming in soon." (1, 2) -By Alex Koppelman and Mike Madden with contributions by Vincent Rossmeier and Gabriel Winant -Salon

- Bob Corker - Richard Shelby - Foreign - Money - Auto - Makers - Michigan - Workers - US - Japan - Germany - Alabama - Tennessee
"Anger Grips Auto Workers: Critic of a Rescue, [Tennessee Republican Senator] Sen. Corker Faces Backlash at Home." ... "As the workers and residents of this small town [Spring Hill, Tennessee] that launched the Saturn automobile see it, there are several villains in the collapse of the automakers' rescue plan." ... "But what stuns many in this place defined by the General Motors auto plant and its 4,200 workers is that no person played a larger role in the demise of autoworker hopes than their own Sen. Bob Corker (R[Republican]), who is now regarded by some here with the kind of disdain reserved for traitors." ... "Corker emerged as one of the leading critics of the rescue plan passed by the House. He lashed into the carmaker chief executives when they came to Washington looking for help. And it was Corker's alternative proposal, which was a plan that would have been tougher on union workers, that ultimately failed." ... "In a dozen interviews with workers here, many suspected that he only feigned interest in rescuing Detroit's Big Three. Instead, they say, he wants to crush GM [General Motors] and its union to benefit foreign automakers, such [Japan's] Nissan and [Germany's] Volkswagen, who have opened or are opening nonunionized plants in the state." ... ""We're deeply disappointed in Senator Corker -- that's the official statement," said Mike Herron, union chief at the GM plant here. "But actually my members want to choke him."" ... "The anger of the workers and the harshness of their words reflect the larger tension between the old [Michigan] Detroit-based domestic auto industry, with its unionized workforce, and the new [foreign] transplant industry in the nonunion South. Emotions were stoked by the fact that GM, citing the economic downturn, had just announced that it will halt production at the plant for January and the first week of February." ... "Corker "has somehow ignored the fact that there's a major GM plant in his own state," said Ben McFarlane, who retired from the plant this summer and opened a local bar where many workers go. "And if this plant goes, then my business goes, this whole town goes, and the effects cascade across the country."" ... "At a news conference and in interviews yesterday, Corker, a millionaire real estate developer, took pains to depict himself as sympathetic to workers and responsive to his state's interests." ... "But Herron, like many here, pressed the idea that the foreign automakers had been involved in stalling the plan." ... ""It's in their best interest to see us not succeed," Herron said. "Who were the two biggest critics of the rescue? [Republican] Senator Shelby from Alabama and Corker -- and both preside over states that have given hundreds of millions to have foreign automakers to open shop here."" (1, 2) -By Peter Whoriskey with contributions by Julie Tate and Lucy Shackelford -WashingtonPost

- Ecuador - Audit - Law - Foreign - History - Argentina
"Ecuador defaults on foreign debt: Ecuador is to default officially on billions of dollars of foreign debt it considers "illegitimate", says President Rafael Correa." ... "Mr Correa said he had given the order not to approve a debt interest payment due on Monday, describing the international lenders as "monsters"." ... "The president said that some of Ecuador's $10bn debt was contracted illegally by a previous administration." ... "It is the first debt default by a country in Latin America since 2001." ... "At that time, Argentina failed to repay debt in the midst of its financial meltdown." ... "His decision follows a government audit in November which recommended that Ecuador default on almost 40% of the $10bn foreign debt, accusing former officials and bankers of profiting irresponsibly from bond deals." -BBC/News

- Barack Obama - Housing - Crisis - Investors - Politics - New York
"HUD pick foresaw subprime crisis in '04." ... ""[Democratic President Elect] Barack Obama's pick for HUD [Housing and Urban Development] -- former New York City [New York] Housing Commissioner Shaun Donovan -- was one of the earliest public officials to foresee the magnitude and destructive capacity of the subprime crisis." ... "In the middle of 2004, I sat down with Donovan (I was at Newsday at the time) for a chat about [Democratic New York City, New York] Mayor Michael Bloomberg's initiative to tackle the shortage of low- and middle-income housing in the city." ... "To my surprise, Donovan brushed aside my questions about the city's initiatives and began talking at length about the coming "flood" of foreclosures he anticipated among highly leveraged apartment buildings purchased by recent immigrants -- and a looming subprime crisis for one- and two-family homeowners in up-and-coming neighborhoods in southeast [New York City burroughs] Queens and central Brooklyn." ... "I left the meeting a little shaken: At the time housing prices in previously depressed parts of the city were booming and the city had been able to sell off almost of all its once-massive stock of foreclosed properties to private owners and investors. The future looked bright to almost everyone -- but not to Donovan, who was planning for the looming disaster." -By Glenn Thrush -Politico.com

- Ted Stevens - Criminal - Politics - Alaska
"Judge temporarily lifts Stevens' law license: Decision to suspend convicted senator's license could become permanent." ... "Convicted [Alaska Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens has temporarily lost his license to practice law in the District of Columbia, a decision that could become permanent after further proceedings." -AP via -MSNBC

- Christmas - Children - Consumer - History - Sacramento - California
"Christmas bleak for KB Toys as it files Chapter 11." ... "The toy retailer filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday just two weeks before Christmas and announced plans to immediately liquidate its stores, including all four in the Sacramento [California's capital] area." ... ""It's sad that all of these companies are going out of business," said Gina Quivan of Sacramento after a day of Christmas shopping with husband Justin Vasquez and their three children. Vasquez carried a large bag of toys stamped with the KB Toys logo." ... "KB Toys now joins a growing list of household names tacking up going-out-of-business signs, from Linens 'n Things to Mervyns to Circuit City and Shoe Pavilion. That a toy retailer failed just before Christmas shows how bleak things have become." ... "Retail sales are at their worst in 35 years, and three in five people say they'll spend less money over the next 90 days, according to a survey of consumer spending released Thursday by Maryland-based researcher ChangeWave." ... "The 86-year-old company decided the most viable way to cover its debt was to liquidate its stores via immediate going-out-of-business sales." -By Darrell Smith -SacBee.com

- Secret - Corporate - Government - Politics - US_Debt - Emergency
"Fed Refuses to Disclose Recipients of $2 Trillion (Update2)." ... "The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral." ... "Bloomberg filed suit [2008 November] Nov. 7 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act requesting details about the terms of 11 Fed lending programs, most created during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression." ... "The Fed responded [2008 December] Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information. The institution confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to some of the requests." ... "“If they told us what they held, we would know the potential losses that the government may take and that’s what they don’t want us to know,” said Carlos Mendez, a senior managing director at New York-based ICP Capital LLC, which oversees $22 billion in assets." ... "The Fed stepped into a rescue role that was the original purpose of the Treasury’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The central bank loans don’t have the oversight safeguards that Congress imposed upon the TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program]." ... "Total Fed lending exceeded $2 trillion for the first time Nov. 6. It rose by 138 percent, or $1.23 trillion, in the 12 weeks since Sept. 14, when central bank governors relaxed collateral standards to accept securities that weren’t rated AAA." ... "The Bloomberg lawsuit is Bloomberg LP v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 08-CV-9595, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan)." -By Mark Pittman -Bloomberg

- Auto - Makers - Legislation - Workers - Emergency - Government - Politics - Economy - History - Cheney - Michigan
"Senate Republicans kill auto bailout bill." ... "Republican opposition killed a $14-billion auto industry bailout plan in the Senate on Thursday night, putting the future of [United States] U.S. automakers in doubt and threatening to deliver another blow to the economy." ... "The measure died after a last-ditch effort by Senate Democratic leaders to strike a compromise that would have lured enough support to save the legislation, which was crafted in consultation with the [Republican President Bush] White House." ... "The bill's failure raises the possibility of bankruptcy by one or more of [Michigan state's] Detroit's Big Three and puts new pressure on [Republican] President Bush to authorize emergency loans for the automakers from the $700-billion Wall Street rescue fund, a step he has adamantly refused to take." ... "The collapse of General Motors, Chrysler or Ford -- along with many of their suppliers and dealers -- could throw hundreds of thousands more workers onto the growing unemployment rolls and further cloud the closing days of the [Republican President] Bush administration." ... ""If we don't do this, we will be known as the party of [Republican President] Herbert Hoover forever," [Republican Vice President] Cheney told them, according to a Senate Republican aide, evoking the president whose inaction is widely blamed for helping trigger the Great Depression in the early 1930s." (1, 2) -By Jim Puzzanghera with contributions by Ken Bensinger -LAtimes

- Auto - Industry - Legislation - Sports - History - Michigan - Ky
"Ky. Sen. Bunning, ex-Tiger, snubbed for autos vote: Ky. Sen. [Kentucky Republican Senator Jim] Bunning, ex-Tigers [baseball] pitching great, gets booted from Detroit[ Michigan]-area fair for autos vote." ... "Bunning was kicked off the schedule after he helped derail an auto-industry loan package in the Senate Thursday night." ... "Bunning is a Hall of Famer who pitched in Detroit from 1955 to 1963." -AP via -CNN

- Bob Corker - David Vitter - Richard Shelby - Foreign - Money - Auto - Makers - Michigan - Working - People - US - Military - Japan - Tenn - La - Germany - Korea - Ala
"Anger grows in Michigan over Southern opposition to auto loans." ... "Mark Dobias, a small-town lawyer from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, hasn't always been the domestic auto industry's biggest fan. But when it became clear that a few senators from places like Alabama and Louisiana were determined to do anything to block any aid to General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford, it got to him." ... ""This is regional economic warfare. Pure and simple. The wounded Rustbelt being bayoneted in the throat by economic interests in the East and Sunbelt with aid from their political toadies," he wrote me. He's normally a laid-back guy with a puckish sense of humor, but the hypocrisy was, he said, a bit much." ... ""Michigan is a great state. It has good people - hard-working people who make things. The nation has gained from its natural resources and industrial capacity. And now … we will remember this in the same way that Georgia remembers William Tecumseh Sherman," the union general whose armies laid the Southern state waste." ... "What was highly unusual, in Michigan's quarrelling political culture, was the unanimity with which the state's various factions united in support of trying to help the automakers - and disdain for the senators who would prevent that effort." ... "The thoroughly Republican Detroit News normally denounces any government aid program. But not this time. In a highly rare front-page editorial, it pleaded "we urge the Senate, please give Detroit a chance to make things right … we appeal to Senate Republicans to act not in support of the domestic auto makers, but in the interest of the national economy and national security - we still need an arsenal of democracy."" ... "True, the News did publish a piece by freshman [Tennessee Republican Senator] Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn. [Republican-Tennessee]) that called on Congress to impose much harsher conditions on the companies and their workers as a precondition for any aid. He also called for more involvement by Congress in actually running these companies. But the newspaper shot back, that "like most of Washington, Corker is ill-informed of the forces roiling the domestic auto industry."" ... "There was bitterness, too, in Detroit [Michigan] at the men blocking the bailout. Some cattily noted that when [Louisiana Republican Senator] Sen. David Vitter (R., La. [Republican-Louisiana]) vowed a filibuster, it was the first time he had gotten national press attention since being linked to a Washington prostitution scandal." ... "Sens. [Alabama Republican Senator] Richard Shelby (R., Ala. [Republican-Alabama]) and Corker both represent states where foreign, nonunion automakers have significant operations. Mr. Corker, a freshman who won a narrow victory in 2006, is insisting that the United Auto Workers accept wage cuts so that workers make no more than nonunion workers in the South, such as the [Japan's] Nissan employees in his state." ... "Alabama, a right-to-work state, has granted vast concessions to win [auot manufacturing] plants operated by [Japan's] Toyota, [Germany's] Mercedes-Benz, [Japan's] Honda, and [South Korea's] Hyundai." -By Jack Lessenberry -ToledoBlade.com

- Mitch McConnell - Bob Corker - Richard Shelby - Auto - Makers - Workers - Lawmakers - Politics - Kentucky - Alabama - Tennessee
"Machinists Union Blames McConnell, Shelby and Corker for Killing Auto Rescue Plan." ... "The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today rejected attempts by a trio of Senate Republicans to deny responsibility for their campaign to force General Motors, Chrysler and Ford into bankruptcy and possible liquidation." ... ""In a move worthy of Benedict Arnold, a handful of Senate Republicans this week successfully conspired to deny federal aid to [United States] U.S. automakers," said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. "It ranks second only to their attempt to blame autoworkers themselves for failing to provide sufficient concessions to satisfy GOP [Republican] demands."" ... "The campaign to blame autoworkers began immediately after the effort by [Kentucky Republican Senator] Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Alabama Republican [Senator] Sen. Richard Shelby and Tennessee Republican [Senator] Bob Corker to block the $14 billion aid package for automakers." ... ""With the U.S economy on the brink of a deep and prolonged recession, it is unthinkable that these lawmakers would deliberately kill an effort that could save as many as three million American jobs," said Buffenbarger."

- Investment - Investigation
"Madoff Confessed $50 Billion Fraud to Workers Before FBI Arrest." ... "Bernard Madoff had confessed to employees this week that his investment advisory business was “a giant Ponzi scheme” that cost clients $50 billion before two FBI agents showed up yesterday morning at his Manhattan apartment." ... "“We’re here to find out if there’s an innocent explanation,” Agent Theodore Cacioppi told Madoff, 70, who is considered a pioneer of modern Wall Street." ... "“There is no innocent explanation,” Madoff told the agents, saying he personally traded and lost money for institutional clients. He said he “paid investors with money that wasn’t there” and expected to go to jail. With that, agents arrested Madoff, according to an FBI complaint." ... "The 8:30 a.m. arrest capped the stunningly swift downfall of Madoff and businesses bearing his name that specialized in trading securities, making markets and advising wealthy clients. Many questions remain unanswered, including whether Madoff’s clients actually lost $50 billion." ... "Madoff’s firm had about $17.1 billion in assets under management as of Nov. 17, according to NASD records." ... "Prosecutors are joining regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil lawsuit, in scrambling to unravel the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC." ... "The case is U.S. v. Madoff, 08-MAG-02735, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan)." -By David Voreacos and David Glovin -Bloomberg

- Barack Obama - Media - Politics - Investigation -History - Illinois
"Media Matters: Media pick up where they left off 8 years ago." ... "To anyone who lived through the media feeding frenzy of the 1990s, during which the nation's leading news organizations spent the better part of a decade destroying their own credibility by relentlessly hyping a series of non-scandals, the past few days, in which the media have tried to shoehorn [Democratic President Elect] Barack Obama into the [Illinois Democratic Governor] Rod Blagojevich scandal, have been sickeningly familiar." ... "Whenever reporters think -- or want you to think -- they've uncovered a presidential scandal, they waste little time in comparing it to previous controversies." ... "Perhaps the most striking aspect of the media's attempts to link Obama to the Blagojevich scandal has been the volume of news reports that are purely speculative -- and not only speculative, but vaguely speculative. That is, they don't even consist of conjecture about specific potential wrong doing. They simply consist of completely baseless speculation that Obama might in some way become caught up in the investigation at some point in the future, for some reason. It's little more than, "Maybe Obama will be involved." Well, sure. And maybe he'll play shortstop for the Washington Nationals [baseball team] next year." ... "If you want to make a "scandal" stick to someone despite the inconvenient truth that they aren't actually guilty of the purported wrongdoing in question, one thing you do -- if you're the media covering a Democratic president, or an overzealous conservative -- is continually expand the scandal's definition. So the "scandal" grows and evolves into an amorphous mass of innuendo as political opponents and journalists begin throwing everything against the wall, hoping something will stick." ... "If the news media regains a bit of the skepticism so many of them set aside for the past eight years, that would be an unequivocally good thing, and it should be applauded." ... "But this week brought signs that much of the media is set to resume the absurd and shameful behavior that defined the 1990s -- guilt by association, circular analysis whereby they ask baseless questions about non-scandals, then claim they have to report on the "scandal" because the White House is "besieged by questions," grotesque leaps of logic, downplaying exculpatory information, and too many other failings to list." ... "If that happens -- if the media continue to behave as they did in covering Whitewater -- they will damage the country. It's really that simple. We cannot afford to be distracted from serious problems by overheated conjecture and baseless insinuation masquerading as journalism." ... "That's how the media behaved the last time we had a Democratic president. They devoted wall-to-wall coverage to invented "scandals," ignored exculpatory evidence, saw evidence of guilt everywhere, took people out of context in order to accuse them of lying, and generally behaved like a pack of wild animals who couldn't tell right from wrong or truth from fiction -- or who simply didn't care. As a group, they behaved without ethical standards and without regard for the truth." ... "It's our responsibility -- all of us -- to make sure it doesn't happen again." -By Jamison Foser -MediaMatters.org

- Torture - Prisons - War Crimes - Secret - Military - Government - Intelligence - Law - Investigation - Human Rights - Politics - History - McCain - Ariz - Mich - US - Guantanamo - Cuba - Iraq - Afghanistan - China - Korea
"Bipartisan Report: Rumsfeld Responsible for Detainee Abuse: Senate Committee Finds Officials Made Decisions That Led to Offenses Against Prisoners." ... "A bipartisan panel of senators has concluded that [Republican President Bush's] former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials bear direct responsibility for the harsh treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay [Cuba], and that their decisions led to more serious abuses in Iraq and elsewhere." ... "In the most comprehensive critique by Congress of the military's interrogation practices, the Senate Armed Services Committee issued a report yesterday that accuses Rumsfeld and his deputies of being the authors and chief promoters of harsh interrogation policies that disgraced the nation and undermined U.S. security. The report, released by Sens. [ Senators] Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.[ Democratic-Michigan]) and John McCain (R-Ariz.[ Republican Arizona]), contends that Pentagon officials later tried to create a false impression that the policies were unrelated to acts of detainee abuse committed by members of the military." ... ""The abuse of detainees in U.S. [United States] custody cannot simply be attributed to the actions of 'a few bad apples' acting on their own," the report states. "The fact is that senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees."" ... "The report is the most direct refutation to date of the administration's rationale for using aggressive interrogation tactics -- that inflicting humiliation and pain on detainees was legal and effective, and helped protect the country. The 25-member panel, without one dissent among the 12 Republican members, declared the opposite to be true." ... "The [Republican President Bush's] administration's policies and the resulting controversies, the panel concluded, "damaged our ability to collect accurate intelligence that could save lives, strengthened the hand of our enemies, and compromised our moral authority."" ... "A Defense Department spokesman noted that the Pentagon cooperated extensively with the Senate investigation and has taken numerous steps in recent years to ensure the humane treatment of detainees." ... "The panel's investigation focused on the Defense Department's employment of controversial interrogation practices, including forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep deprivation, extreme temperatures and the use of dogs. The practices, some of which had already been adopted by the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] at its secret prisons, were adapted for interrogations at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and later migrated to U.S. detention camps in Afghanistan and Iraq, including the infamous Abu Ghraib prison." ... "The true genesis of the decision to use coercive techniques, the report said, was a memo signed by [Republican] President Bush on [February] Feb. 7, 2002, declaring that the Geneva Convention's standards for humane treatment did not apply to captured al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. As early as that spring, the panel said, top administration officials, including National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, participated in meetings in which the use of coercive measures was discussed. The panel drew on a written statement by Rice, released earlier this year, to support that conclusion." ... "In July 2002, Rumseld's senior staff began compiling information about techniques used in military survival schools to simulate conditions that U.S. airmen might face if captured by an enemy that did not follow the Geneva conditions. Those techniques -- borrowed from a training program known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, or SERE -- included waterboarding, or simulated drowning, and were loosely based on methods adopted by Chinese communists to coerce propaganda confessions from captured U.S. soldiers during the Korean war." ... "The SERE program became the template for interrogation methods that were ultimately approved by Rumsfeld himself, the report says." -By Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoung -WashingtonPost

- Auto - Makers - Emergency - Money - Politics - Workers - Environmental - Laws - Fuel - Technology - Emissions - Government - Michigan - California
"Murky future for auto rescue amid GOP opposition." ... "A House-passed bill to speed $14 billion in loans to Detroit's [Michigan] automakers stands on shaky ground in a bailout-weary Congress, undermined by Republican opposition that could derail the emergency aid in the Senate." ... "Republicans are challenging lame-duck [Republican] President George W. Bush on the proposal, arguing that any support for the domestic auto industry should carry significant concessions from autoworkers and creditors and reject tougher environmental rules imposed by House Democrats." ... "The automakers initially asked Congress for $25 billion, then returned two weeks later to plead for as much as $34 billion. But with the {Republican President Bush] White House refusing to dole out new spending for the Big Three [Automakers], congressional Democrats agreed to use an existing program that was to help carmakers retool their factories to make more fuel-efficient cars." ... "That fund yielded only $15 billion in emergency loans, and when negotiators agreed to leave some money in the environmental program, the amount fell to $14 billion." ... "Democrats agreed to scrap language — which the White House had declared a deal-breaker — that would have forced the carmakers to drop lawsuits challenging tough emissions limits in California and other states. But they kept a provision to force the automakers to abide by those states' limits — a kind of consolation prize for environmentalists, who already were livid at the raid of the fuel-efficiency program." -By Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Ken Thomas -AP via -Yahoo

- People - Economic - History
"Jobless claims at 26-year high: Number of people filing for initial unemployment insurance surges to 573,000 in latest week." ... "The number of Americans filing new unemployment insurance claims jumped last week to a 26-year high, surpassing the number of filings economists had predicted." ... "The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial filings for state jobless benefits surged to 573,000 for the week ended Dec. 6. That was an increase of 58,000 from a revised 515,000 claims in the previous week." ... "It was the highest number of jobless claims since Nov. 27, 1982 when initial filings hit 612,000." ... "The number of people continuing to collect unemployment rose to 4,429,000 in the week ended Nov. 29, the most recent week available, which was also a 26-year high." ... "The last time continuing claims was at such an elevated level was Dec. 4, 1982, when continuing claims hit 4,509,000." ... "So far this year, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs." -CNN

- Animals - Federal - Law - Enforcement - Science - Politics - History - Global - Climate - Ice - Oil - Emissions - Construction - Money
"Environmentalists: New rule guts Endangered Species Act." ... "In a move environmental groups says strikes at the heart of the Endangered Species Act, the [Republican President] Bush administration on Thursday announced a new rule that would let federal agencies decide on their own whether their projects harm endangered species, instead of requiring them in many cases to get a second opinion from federal wildlife experts." ... "Opponents said the move destroys the checks and balances that have helped the gove rnment save hundreds of species from extinction under the 1973 law." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the reason for the rule change was linked to global warming." ... "Kempthorne listed the polar bear as a threatened species in May but said that the Endangered Species Act could not be used to try to halt global warming. The new regulation specifies that there is no need for consultations when the harm to endangered or threatened species is a result from a global process that's too broad to measure." ... "Kempthorne said it's impossible to pinpoint the death of any single animal from emissions from any single polluter. In fact, emissions of heat-trapping gases disperse evenly in the atmosphere around the globe and remain there for centuries. The resulting warming and melting of polar ice have put the polar bear at risk of extinction by mid-century, scientists have said." ... "The rule changes also go further and specify that federal agencies are not required to consult with the biologists of the two agencies that enforce the act — the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Services — if they think a project such as a timber sale or construction of a power plant won't harm or kill a threatened or endangered species. The changes do not rule out voluntary consultations." ... "The Interior Department on Thursday also finalized a rule implementing another section of the Endangered Species Act to clarify that it will not protect polar bears from oil and gas development or greenhouse gas emissions." -By Renee Schoof -McClatchyDC.com

- Auto - Manufacturing - Politics - Jobs - Economic - History - Christmas - Consumer - US - China
"Senate Republicans Determined to Cause a Depression by Destroying Big 3." ... "Looks like the Senate Republicans are serious about killing the auto deal.  Here's the bottom line, if GM [General Motors] goes down, it will take Ford and Chrysler with it, because the three of them share suppliers.  Losing GM's business will put most of them into the red.  80% of American consumers will not buy a car from a company in bankruptcy, so the idea that going bankrupt is the solution to the auto companies woes is nonsense." ... "What comes out of any bankruptcy, even if they have the names GM, Ford and Chrysler, will be a shadow of what went into bankruptcy—assuming anything comes out at all.  More likely would be that big chunks would be gobbled up by foreign car companies, especially by the Chinese, who want expertise, but not to make cars in the US [United States]." ... "We can expect, then, to lose most o f the three million jobs related to the auto industry if the Big 2 1/2 go under.  To put this in perspective, in the last year the US has lost 2.7 million jobs.  This would be more than the job losses for an entire (lousy) year.  The US lost half a million jobs last month, and almost every economic forecaster expects the US to lose even more jobs in January, when retailers go fish-belly up due to an abysmal Christmas retail season." ... "Economic contractions of this sort are self-reinforcing.  The more people who lose their jobs, the less consumer spending there is.  The less consumer spending there is, the less money businesses make.  The less money businesses make, the more they have to lay off people.  The more people who lose their jobs, the less consumer spending there is.  The less... but why go on, you get the point." ... "The cascading financial and economic effect will make the oncoming economic storm far, far worse.  If 700 billion was ok to use to save Wall Street, whose business model was probably even worse than Detroit's (add up their losses and most of Wall Street didn't actually make any money for the last ten years), then 15 or 25 billion to save Detroit is peanuts." ... "Or we can make sure this turns into a Depression.  Guess the Republicans playing Scrooge this Christmas prefer that." -By Ian Welsh -FireDogLake.com

- David Vitter - Mitch McConnell - Bob Corker - Foreign - Money - Politicians - Auto -Manufacturing - Work - Louisiana - Kentucky - Tennessee - Pennsylvania - US - Japan - Germany
"My Foreign Investor, Right Or Wrong." ... "A bunch of Southern-state Republicans (including, amazingly, ... [Louisiana Republican Senator] David Vitter), from right-to-work states, want to push GM [General Motors] and Chrysler into bankruptcy to bolster the foreign auto presence in their home states. Kentucky has a Ford factory but they also have a [Japanese] Toyota plant in Georgetown [Kentucky], so [Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch] McConnell's on board." ... "Last week, Jane Hamsher explained the conflict of interest for [Tennessee Republican Senator] Bob Corker in Tennessee:"

"He hasn't mentioned the subsidies his own state of Tennessee has given to
, making it harder for the Big 2 1/2 to compete:"

"Tennessee offered its richest incentive package — and perhaps the most government assistance and tax breaks ever for an American automobile plant — to lure [German auto manufacturer] Volkswagen to Chattanooga [Tennessee]."

"But the state’s chief business recruiter said Wednesday that the benefits from VW’s $1 billion assembly plant far will exceed what could top $500 million in government assistance and tax breaks for the project."

"“The Volkswagen investment in this community is going to have a tremendous economic gain for the entire region,” said Matt Kisber, Tennessee’s commissioner for economic and community development. “I’m confident we’re going to have a very reasonable incentive package when you look at the initial costs of what is being offered compared with a much bigger long-term return.”"

"Yes, that's the logic -- these incentives will bring more money to the region than they cost. But it doesn't always work out that way. As David Cay Johnston noted in Free Lunch, these kinds of subsidies frequently wind up costing communities much more than they ever make back:"

"Johnson writes: "The tribute Cabela's demanded from Hamburg [Pennsylvania] amounted to roughly $8,000 for each man, woman, and child in town." Johnson points out that between 2004 and 2006, Cabela's earned $223.4 million. During those years, it collected at least $293.7 million in subsidies, more than its reported profits. Meanwhile a family business selling fishing and hunting gear was driven out of business in Hamburg."

"Funny nobody is mentioning this."

- John Boehner - Don Young - Doc Hastings - Jack Abramoff - Tom DeLay - Jerry Lewis - Ken Calvert - John Doolittle - Ohio - AK - WA -Texas - CA - Florida - Money - Politics - US Attorney - Law - Federal - Investigation
"House GOP [Republicans] Gives Scandal-Ridden Don Young’s Committee Seat To Scandal-Ridden Doc Hastings." ... " ... [Ohio Republican Representative and House Minority Leader John Boehner told Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK [Republican-Alaska]) that he could no longer support him as ranking Republican on the Natural Resources Committee, leading to Young’s resignation from the post." ... "The AP reports that a panel of top House leaders picked [Washington state Republican Representative] Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA [Republican-Washington]) today to lead the committee. “The recommendation by the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Steering Committee is final under a rule change adopted Wednesday.”" ... "Recall, Jack Abramoff once boasted of having an “excellent relationship” with Hastings, who received $14,000 [*] from Abramoff’s firm, Preston Gates — including $1,000 from Abramoff himself. After taking control of the Ethics Committee, Hastings reportedly fired two staff lawyers involved in unanimous decisions to admonish [Texas Republican] Tom DeLay for improper fundraising. Hastings also contacted fired [United States] U.S. Attorney John McKay and attempted to pressure him in an ongoing investigation." ... "As ThinkProgress has documented, Boehner has a history of playing musical chairs with committee assignments for corrupt members:"

"[California Republican Representative] Rep. Jerry Lewis: Boehner ruled that Rep. Jerry Lewis of California could continue as the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee while under federal investigation on ethics charges."

"[California Republican Representative] Rep. Ken Calvert: The GOP Steering Committee appointed Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA[ Republican-California]) to [California Republican Representative] Rep. Jon Doolittle’s (R-CA[ Republican-California]) Appropriations seat, after Doolittle was the subject of an FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] investigation for his ties to Abramoff. Calvert has profited from legislation he supported and was caught in the act with a prostitute."

"[Florida Republican Representative] Rep. Tom Feeney: Feeney, who was questioned by the FBI over his relationship with Abramoff took over as GOP [Republican] leader on the space subcommittee for Calvert."

- Homeless - Families - Poverty - Crisis - Politics - Law - Police - Florida
"Homeless turn foreclosures into shelters." ... "For Max Rameau, a vacant, boarded-up home is more than just a symbol of the national housing crisis. It's an opportunity to house the homeless." ... "Rameau, a homeless advocate, runs a controversial program in Miami [Florida] that helps families squat in homes vacated because of bank foreclosures. Using Internet listings and a team of volunteers, Rameau and his Take Back the Land foundation matches homeless families with empty homes." ... "Rameau, 39, says his efforts are creative solutions for two of America's biggest problems: rising numbers of vacant homes and a growing homeless population. He has moved in six families since January. The authorities so far haven't stopped him." ... ""It's morally indefensible to have vacant homes sitting there, potentially for years, while you have human beings on the street," Rameau says." ... "Kelly Penton, a city of Miami spokeswoman, says police don't have the manpower to scour neighborhoods looking for squatters. Police only act on a complaint by a property owner, which so far hasn't happened, she says." ... ""People need to obey the law, obviously," Penton says. "But it has to be something that's reported to the city."" ... "With 44% of the nation's 744,000 homeless unsheltered, it's not surprising that people want to take over homes, says Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless." -By Rick Jervis -USATODAY

- Barack Obama - Michael Mukasey - Secret - Intelligence - Politics - Spying - Torture - Prisons
"Obama Transition Team Pushing for Secret Legal Memos." ... "A senior Justice Department official said Tuesday that "99.8 percent" of the department's work with [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has gone smoothly. The 0.2 percent snag: The department has reservations about granting the team's request to review classified legal opinions related to secret CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] and National Security Agency programs." ... "In a roundtable discussion with reporters last week, [Republican President Bush's] Attorney General Michael Mukasey declined to discuss specific requests made by transition staff regarding opinions issued by the Office of Legal Counsel, the arm of the Justice Department that provides legal advice to the president and all other executive branch agencies." ... "The Justice official said the dispute over access to the NSA [National Security Agency] and CIA opinions has made its way up to Williams & Connolly's Gregory Craig, who earlier this month was named to be Obama's White House counsel. Craig was expected to meet with current [Republican President Bush's] White House counsel Fred Fielding to discuss the issue, the official said." ... "The opinions, some of which have been released to Congress in redacted form, contain the legal rationale of the NSA's warrantless spying program and the CIA's detention and interrogation policies, among other intelligence initiatives." -By Joe Palazzolo -LegalTimes.com via -Law.com

-Illinois - Law - Enforcement - Nevada
"All 50 Dem Senators Call On Blagojevich To Step Down." ... "Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean issued a statement calling for Blagojevich's resignation:"

"The arrest of and complaint against [Illinois Democratic Governor] Gov. Blagojevich raises serious concerns about his ability to effectively represent the people of Illinois. The conduct alleged represents a disgraceful abuse of the public trust. In the interest of the people of Illinois and all Americans, he should resign immediately. If he does not, I hope the Illinois legislature will take action."

"Dear Governor Blagojevich:"

"We write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious questions."

"It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election. But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans. We consider it imperative that a new senator be seated as soon as possible so that Illinois is fully represented in the Senate as the important work of the 111th Congress moves forward."

"Please understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated."

"We do not prejudge the outcome of the criminal charges against you or question your constitutional right to contest those charges. But for the good of the Senate and our nation, we implore you refrain from making an appointment to the Senate."

- US - Government - Debt - Money - Safety - Politics - History - Global
"Investors buy U.S. debt at zero yield." ... "In the market equivalent of shoveling cash under the mattress, hordes of buyers were so eager on Tuesday to park money in the world's safest investment, United States government debt, that they agreed to accept a zero percent rate of return." ... "The news sent a sobering signal: in these troubled economic times, when people have lost vast amounts on stocks, bonds and real estate, making an investment that offers security but no gain is tantamount to coming out ahead. This extremely cautious approach reflects concerns that a global recession could deepen next year, and continue to jeopardize all types of investments." ... "While this will lower the cost of borrowing for the United States government, economists worry that a widespread hunkering-down could have broader implications that could slow an economic recovery. If investors remain reluctant to put money into stocks and corporate bonds, that could choke off funds that businesses need to keep financing their day-to-day operations." ... "Investors accepted the zero percent rate in the government's auction Tuesday of $30 billion worth of short-term securities that mature in four weeks. Demand was so great even for no return that the government could have sold four times as much." ... "In addition, for a brief moment, investors were willing to take a small loss for holding another ultra-safe security, the already-issued three-month Treasury bill." ... "In these times, it seems, the abnormal has now become acceptable. As America's debt and deficit spiral from a parade of billion dollar bailouts and stimulus packages, fund managers, foreign governments and big retail investors reckon they will get more peace of mind by stashing their cash, rather than putting it toward any of the higher-yielding risk that is entailed in stocks, corporate bonds and consumer debt." ... "The rapid decline in Treasury yields — which since summer have headed toward lows not seen since the end of the World War II — also renders the Federal Reserve less effective, as investors and banks stuff the money that the central bank is pumping into the financial system into Treasuries, rather than fanning it out across the broader economy." ... ""The last time this happened was the Great Depression, when people are willing to accept no return on their money, or possibly even a negative return," said Edward Yardeni, an independent analyst. "If people are so busy during the day just protecting the cash they have, it's not a good sign."" (1, 2) -By Vikas Bajaj and Michael M. Grynbaum -IHT.com

- US_Debt - Politics - Corporation - Law - History
"Fed Weighs Debt Sales of Its Own: Move Presents Challenges: 'Very Close Cousins to Existing Treasury Bills'." ... "The Federal Reserve is considering issuing its own debt for the first time, a move that would give the central bank additional flexibility as it tries to stabilize rocky financial markets." ... "Government debt issuance is largely the province of the Treasury Department, and the Fed already can print as much money as it wants. But as the credit crisis drags on and the economy suffers from recession, Fed officials are looking broadly for new financial tools." ... "Fed officials have approached Congress about the concept, which could include issuing bills or some other form of debt, according to people familiar with the matter." ... "It isn't known whether these preliminary discussions will result in a formal proposal or Fed action. One hurdle: The Federal Reserve Act doesn't explicitly permit the Fed to issue notes beyond currency." ... "At the core of the deliberations is the Fed's balance sheet, which has grown from less than $900 billion to more than $2 trillion since August as it backstops new markets like commercial paper, money-market funds, mortgage-backed securities and ailing companies such as American International Group Inc." ... "... [T]he Fed has funded programs by flooding the financial system with money it created itself -- known in central-banking circles as bank reserves -- and has used the money to make loans and purchase assets." -By Jon Hilsenrath and Damian Paletta -WSJ.com

- Poverty - Emergency - People - Health - Wisconsin
"From canned goods to fresh, food banks adapt." ... "Vanessa Rosales comes to the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry here [in Madison, Wisconsin's capital] rather than others for one reason: She can choose what food she brings home, rather than being handed a bag filled with random groceries." ... "The pantry, which looks like a small grocery store, is indicative of broad changes going on at the nation's food banks and food pantries." ... "No longer simply the domain of canned corn and peanut butter, food banks are preparing ready-to-eat meals, opening their own farms and partnering with institutions as varied as local supermarkets and state prisons to help gather and process food. They are also handling much more fresh produce, which requires overhauling the way they store and distribute food." ... "Pantries, which distribute the food donated to food banks, are also acting as social service clearinghouses. Many are handing out information about screenings for breast and cervical cancer and sending volunteers out to sign up people for food stamps." ... "And as demand continues to rise, food banks are trying to feed more people with less food." ... ""I keep hearing that demand is up and up and up," said Ross Fraser, a spokesman for Feeding America, which provides more than two billion pounds of food annually to food banks around the country. "I heard one person saying they're feeding schoolteachers. The needle is moving higher up the socioeconomic class, and people making more money are needing emergency food assistance."" (1, 2) -By Katie Zezima -IHT.com

- China - Free Speech - Human Rights - Law - Politics - United Nations - History
"China arrests a signer of a freedom charter: Literary critic Liu Xiaobo had joined more than 300 in endorsing the 'Charter 08' document." ... "China has arrested at least one prominent dissident and has questioned and possibly detained others who were among more than 300 signatories to a declaration demanding more freedoms." ... "Liu Xiaobo, a prolific literary critic who spent 20 months in prison for joining students in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, was arrested Monday night at his home in Beijing [China's capital]. Human rights organizations said the 53-year-old Liu was being detained on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power," a charge often used against government critics." ... "The arrest came in the run-up to today's 60th anniversary of the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a landmark document credited with inspiring the modern human rights movement." ... "The Chinese activists are using the anniversary as a peg to release what they are calling "Charter 08," a petition with recommendations for constitutional reforms that would make the ruling Communist Party more accountable." -By Barbara Demick -LAtimes

- Animals - Seas - Global - Climate - Science- Emissions - Economy -  - Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
"Fifth of world's coral reefs dead, say marine scientists: Climate change linked to warmer and more acidic seas pose biggest threat to coral survival, says report." ... "A fifth of the world's coral reefs have died or been destroyed and the remainder are increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new study says." ... "The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network says many surviving reefs could be lost over the coming decades as CO2 emissions continue to increase." ... "Corals are crucial to the livelihoods of millions of coastal dwellers around the world. The UN's Millennium Ecosystem Assessment says reefs are worth about $30bn annually to the global economy through tourism, fisheries and coastal protection." -By David Adam-Guardian.co.uk

- Barack Obama -Illinois - Money - Legislation - Media - Politics
"Obama's support of ethics reform is good news for the GOP [GOP=Republican Party]...." ... "Seriously, I'm trying to get my arms around this new story on the Blagojevich scandal that the New York Times [by Mike McIntire and Jeff Zeleny] has put out there. The lede of the article is tantalizing:"

"In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of [Democratic President Elect] Barack Obama’s rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall of a fellow Democrat he twice supported, [Illinois Democratic Governor] Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich."

"Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say."

"Beyond the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics. It is a world he has long navigated, to the consternation of his critics, by engaging in a kind of realpolitik, Chicago-style, which allowed him to draw strength from his relationships with important players without becoming compromised by their many weaknesses."

- Terrorism - Criminal - Political - History - Corporate - Religion - Prison - Pat Robertson - Abortion - Gay - Rights - Law - California - Texas - US - Iraq - Military
"Bush Awards Presidential Citizen Medal To Watergate Crook Chuck Colson." ... "Established in 1969, the Presidential Citizens Medal is the second highest honor for a civilian, recognizing Americans “who have performed exemplary deeds of service for the nation.”" ... "Today, [Republican] President Bush honored 24 recipients of this year’s award, including actor Gary Sinise and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp. Also included in that mix was Chuck Colson, “the first member of the [Republican President] Nixon administration to serve prison time for Watergate-related offenses.” Colson was President Nixon’s counsel from 1969-1973 and pleaded guilty in 1974 to obstruction of justice. Colson received a one to three year sentence, but served just seven months. David Plotz at Slate described Colson’s role in the Nixon administration:"

"As special counsel to the president, he [Chuck Colson] was [Republican President] Richard Nixon’s hard man, the “evil genius” of an evil administration. According to Watergate historian Stanley Kutler, Colson sought to hire Teamsters thugs to beat up anti-war demonstrators, and he plotted to raid or firebomb the Brookings Institution. He eventually pleaded guilty to scheming to defame Daniel Ellsberg and interfering with his trial."

"Colson brought together politically conservative Catholics and Protestands for a statement of common beliefs, advised conservative politicians including Texas [Republican] governor George W. Bush, and worked with Christian right leaders Pat Robertson and James Dobson on the development of political strategy. He disseminated conservative messages on sex roles, abortion, homosexuality, pornography, gay rights, and separation of church and state in his radio broadcasts and columns, reaching millions of Americans."

- Military - Inpector - Safer - Vehicles - Technology - Politics - MRAPS - US - Iraq
"Pentagon ignored danger of roadside bombs, report finds." ... "The military ignored steps before the invasion of Iraq that could have prevented the staggering number of casualties from roadside bombs, the Pentagon's acting inspector general charged Tuesday." ... "The IG's [Inspector General's] report says that the military knew years before the war that mines and homemade bombs, which the military calls "improvised explosive devices," would be a "threat . . . in low-intensity conflicts" and that "mine-resistant vehicles" were available." ... ""Yet the military did not develop requirements for, fund or acquire" safer vehicles, the report says. The military invaded Iraq in 2003 "without having taken available steps to acquire technology to mitigate the known mine and IED [Improvised Explosive Device] risk to soldiers and Marines."" ... "Even after the war was under way, as the devices began taking a deadly toll and field commanders pressed for vehicles that were better protected from roadside bombs, the Pentagon was slow to act, the report says." ... "The IG's office is headed by Acting Inspector General Gordon Heddell." ... "Explosive devices, including roadside bombs and mines, have caused nearly 25,000 deaths and injuries, according to the Pentagon, the top cause of death for U.S. [United States] service members in Iraq." ... "The IG report says that the military "stopped processing" a 2005 request for 1,169 MRAPS [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles] from commanders in the field. " -By David Goldstein -McClatchyDC.com

- US - Government - Debt - Money - Safety - History
"Treasury Bills Trade at Negative Rates as Haven Demand Surges." ... "Treasuries rose, pushing rates on the three-month bill negative for the first time, as investors gravitate toward the safety of U.S. government debt amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression." ... "The Treasury sold $27 billion of three-month bills yesterday at a discount rate of 0.005 percent, the lowest since it starting auctioning the securities in 1929. The U.S. also sold $30 billion of four-week bills today at zero percent for the first time since it began selling the debt in 2001." ... "If you invested $1 million in three-month bills at today’s negative discount rate of 0.01 percent, for a price of 100.002556, at maturity you would receive the par value for a loss of $25.56." ... "The world’s biggest financial companies incurred almost $1 trillion in writedowns and credit losses since the start of last year, helping push the major economies into recession." -By Daniel Kruger and Cordell Eddings -Bloomberg

- Kevin Martin - Corporate - Government - Politics - Telecommunications -Accounting - Investigation - Consumers - Video -Media
"Congressional report: FCC chair abused power." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin ignored his responsibilities as head of the regulatory body and abused his power, according to a congressional report released Tuesday." ... "Over the course of his tenure, Martin manipulated and withheld information from the other FCC [Federal Communications Commission] commissioners and from Congress, neglected his statutory responsibilities to produce certain information to Congress, and ignored evidence that certain national communications programs were being grossly mismanaged, according to the report issued by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, titled "Deception and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission Under Chairman Kevin J. Martin." (PDF)" ... "The committee launched a bipartisan investigation in January after hearing allegations of mismanagement from current and former FCC employees, telecommunications industry representatives, and other FCC commissioners." ... "Typically, a congressional committee would hold hearings to investigate such matters, but the report was issued in lieu of hearings because, the report says, "due to the climate of fear that pervades the FCC...we found that key witnesses were unwilling to testify or even to have their names become known."" ... "The chairman's office, the report says, ignored evidence consumers were overcharged and providers were overcompensated by as much as $100 million a year. The neglect of that information led to a windfall of millions of dollars for the largest TRS [Telecommunications Relay Service] provider, Sorenson, which covers about 80 percent of the video relay services market." ... "The report also recommends the Government Accountability Office audit the entire TRS program, including the FCC's efforts to protect the integrity of the fund." ... "The report also says Martin manipulated information given to his fellow commissioners and Congress. For instance, upon becoming chair in 2005, the report says, Martin ordered FCC staff to reverse the findings of a study, which initially said that "a la carte" cable programming would not benefit consumers. He also demoted the Media Bureau chief, who had been in charge of the study." ... "The reversal led to suspicion inside and out of the FCC that the study sent to Congress was not based on objective analysis, the committee report says." -By Stephanie Condon -CNET /News

- Global - Climate -Floods - Oil - Companies - Human - Environmental - Emissions - Litigation - Politics - UK - US
"Science paves way for climate lawsuits." ... "People affected by worsening storms, heatwaves and floods could soon be able to sue the oil and power companies they blame for global warming, a leading climate expert has said." ... "Myles Allen, a physicist at Oxford University, said a breakthrough that allows scientists to judge the role man-made climate change played in extreme weather events could see a rush to the courts over the next decade." ... "He said: "We are starting to get to the point that when an adverse weather event occurs we can quantify how much more likely it was made by human activity. And people adversely affected by climate change today are in a position to document and quantify their losses. This is going to be hugely important."" ... "Allen's team has used the new technique to work out whether global warming worsened the UK [United Kingdom] floods in autumn 2000, which inundated 10,000 properties, disrupted power supplies and led to train services being cancelled, motorways closed and 11,000 people evacuated from their homes - at a total cost of £1bn." ... "There may also be grounds for a case on the basis that firms have tried to misinform the public - as in US [United States] cases against tobacco firms - about the effects of their business." ... "Owen Lomas, head of environmental law at City firm Allen & Overy, said: "If you look at the extent to which certain major companies in the US are accused of having funded disinformation to cast doubt on the link between man-made emissions and global warming, that could open the way to litigation."" -By David Adam and Afua Hirsch -Guardian.co.uk

- Adolescents - Emergency - Mental - Privacy
"Adolescents, Failed by U.S. Health Care, Go to Emergency Rooms." ... "Adolescents rely on hospital emergency rooms for routine treatment more than any other age group, according to a report that found the U.S. [United States] health-care system often fails those ages 10 to 19." ... "Many youths lack access to specialty services for mental health, substance abuse and sexual and reproductive health, according to the report today by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine." ... "“Even when services are accessible, many adolescents may not find them acceptable because of concerns that confidentiality is not fully ensured, especially in such sensitive domains as substance use or sexual and reproductive health,” according to the report." -By Justin Blum -Bloomberg

- Washington - Political - Financing - Accounting - Investigation - Realtors
"Realtor group's account of expenses disputed: [Washington state's Public Disclosure Commission] PDC's complaints include over-the-limit contributions to [Washington state's Republican Governor Candidate Dino] Rossi." ... "State regulators have filed their second campaign-finance complaint of the year against the Washington Association of Realtors, this time alleging that the association improperly reported its spending on Republicans in races for governor and attorney general." ... "The executive director of the Public Disclosure Commission, Vicki Rippie, filed her complaint last week, and the agency is launching a full investigation, spokesmen said this week." ... "The complaint also named the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] campaigns of Attorney General Rob McKenna and gubernatorial hopeful Dino Rossi." ... "The Realtors PAC and [Realtors'] Quality of Life PAC both, in effect, made over-limit contributions to Rossi of $497,806. Rossi allegedly gave fundraising help to R-PAC before it sponsored its ads." ... "The PDC allegations do go so far as to suggest that the Realtors, Rossi or McKenna conspired to get around rules that forbid coordination between campaigns and independent groups. But they do say that actions the Realtors and Mc Kenna campaign took made the PACs ineligible for independent expenditures on behalf of Mc Kenna." ... "Realtors paid $80,000 in fines earlier in the year to settle an earlier complaint over failing to fully report $953,000 in transactions during 2004-07 — including $310,000 in independent expenditures during 2004. Another $50,000 of fines were suspended on condition the group did not have further wrongdoing." (1, 2) -By Brad Shannon -TheOlympian.com

- Barack Obama - Poll - History
"Poll: 79% approve of way Obama is handling transition." ... "Seventy-nine percent approve of [Democratic President-Elect Barack] Obama's performance so far during transition, with 18 percent disapproving." ... "Obama's approval rating is 14 points higher than the approval rating for [Republican] President-elect George Bush in 2001 and 17 points higher than [Democratic] President-elect Clinton's rating in 1992, CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said." ... "Obama's current approval rating is also more than 50 points higher than President Bush's current approval rating, which now stands at 28 percent --- with 71 percent disapproving of the way Bush is handling his job as president." ... ""An Obama job approval rating of 79 percent -- that's the sort of rating you see when the public rallies around a leader after a national disaster," said Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst. "To many Americans, the Bush administration was a national disaster."" -By Paul Steinhauser -CNN

- AIG - Employees - Politics - Federal - Lawmakers - Maryland - New York
"AIG Says More Managers Get Retention Payouts Topping $4 Million." ... "American International Group Inc. [Incorporated], the insurer whose bonuses and perks are under fire from U.S. [United States] lawmakers, offered cash awards to another 38 executives in a retention program with payments of as much as $4 million." ... "The incentives range from $92,500 to $4 million for employees earning salaries between $160,000 and $1 million, Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy said in a letter dated [2008 December] Dec. 5 to [Maryland Democratic] Representative Elijah Cummings. The New York-based insurer had previously disclosed that 130 managers would get the awards and that one executive would get $3 million." ... "“I remain concerned, as do many American taxpayers, that these retention payments are simply bonuses by another name,” Cummings said in letter responding to Liddy." ... "AIG [American International Group], which received a U.S. rescue package of more than $152 billion, has been criticized for saying it will eliminate bonuses for senior executives while still planning to hand out “cash awards” that double or triple the salaries of some managers." ... "AIG’s managers have overseen a record $37.6 billion in net losses so far this year." -By Hugh Son -Bloomberg

- Illinois - Factory - Company -Politics - Federal - Law
"Workers win a big round in Chicago factory sit-in." ... "The creditor of a Chicago [Illinois] plant where laid-off employees are conducting a sit-in to demand severance pay said Tuesday it would extend limited loans to the factory so it could resolve the dispute, but the workers declared their protest unfinished." ... "The Republic Windows and Doors factory closed last week after Bank of America canceled its financing." ... "Bank of America has been criticized for cutting off the plant's credit after taking federal bailout money itself." ... "Workers, who received just three days' notice before the plant shut down on Friday, argue that the company violated federal law because employees were not given 60 days' notice that they were losing their jobs." -By Michael Tarm -AP via -Yahoo

- Larry Craig - Idaho - Politician - Saint Paul - Minnesota - Police
"Court denies Sen. Craig's effort to withdraw sex-sting plea." ... "The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected U.S. [United States, Idaho Republican Senator] Sen. Larry Craig's effort to withdraw his guilty plea to a misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct in connection with a sex-sting operation." ... "The Idaho Republican was arrested in the Minneapolis-St. Paul [Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital] airport in June 2007 after an undercover police officer accused him of soliciting sex by using hand signals and tapping his foot in a bathroom stall. Two months after his arrest, and without consulting a lawyer, Craig pleaded guilty to the charge without appearing in court." ... "After the incident became public, he attempted to withdraw his plea, contending that his "wide stance" had been misinterpreted by the arresting officer and that he had pleaded guilty simply to get the matter over with." -CNN

- Barack Obama - Illinois - Politics - Federal - Investigation
"Fitzgerald: No evidence Obama knew of Blagojevich's scheme." ... "Illinois [Democratic Governor] Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of trying to trade [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat for a lucrative job in the future Obama administration." ... "Chicago [Illinois, United States] U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor who brought the charges, described the allegations against Blagojevich as a "political corruption crime spree," but emphasized that he had no evidence Obama was aware of the scheme." ... "Blagojevich was aware he was already under federal investigation for other pay-to-play allegations even as he speculated how he could sell the senate seat, the affidavit said." ... "The 76-page affidavit, which quotes lengthy taped phone and office conversations, appears to indicate that Obama’s advisers were not receptive to the scheme. In one passage, Blagojevich allegedly says he knew Obama wanted an unnamed "Senate Candidate 1" for the seat but that "they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F--- them."" -By Marisa Taylor -McClatchyDC.com

- Blackwater - Investigation - Corporate - Military - California - North Carolina - US - Iraq - International - Politics
"Plea by Blackwater guard helps indict 5 others." ... "In the first public airing of an investigation that remains a source of international outrage, the Justice Department unsealed its case against five private security guards, built largely around the chilling testimony of a sixth guard about the 2007 shootings that left 17 unsuspecting Iraqi civilians dead at a busy Baghdad [Iraq's capital] traffic circle." ... "In pleading guilty to manslaughter, the sixth security guard, Jeremy Ridgeway of California, described how he and the other guards used automatic rifles and grenade launchers to fire on cars, houses, a traffic officer and a girls' school. In addition to those killed, at least 20 people were wounded." ... "The six guards were employed by Blackwater Worldwide, the largest security contractor in Iraq; the company, based in North Carolina, has not been charged in the case." ... "Ridgeway said in the court documents unsealed Monday that the episode in Nisour Square on Sept. 16, 2007, started when the guards opened fire on a white Kia sedan "that posed no threat to the convoy."" ... "The case remained a sore point during the [Republican President] Bush administration's negotiations with Iraq for an agreement setting new rules for the continuing presence of U.S. [United States] troops. Ultimately, a major provision of the agreement ended immunity for private contractors working in Iraq." (1, 2) -By Ginger Thompson -IHT.com

- Plants - Animals - Food - Water - Soil - Global - Climate - Science - Government - US - Canada
"Tree's rapid decline sounds alarm on global warming." ... "The whitebark pine, a tree found in the high elevations of the western U.S. [United States] and Canada, is being killed as a consequence of global warming and should be protected as an endangered species, an environmental group formally told the Interior Department Tuesday." ... "If the federal government accepts the scientific arguments in a petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council, it would be the first time a wide-ranging tree has been added to the list. The NRDC [Natural Resources Defense Council] also sees an endangered designation as a warning about worsening climate change." ... "The whitebark pine has declined dramatically due to a triple threat — a disease called the white pine blister rust; the mountain pine beetle, which thrives in the warmer high-altitude conditions produced by the burning of fossil fuels, and forest management practices that have allowed other trees to crowd it out, the NRDC's petition said." ... "Warming also will limit the range of the whitebark pine, the petition said. Many live more than 500 years." ... "The whitebark pine stabilizes the soil and shades the snow, providing water over longer periods for other plants. Grizzly bears, smaller mammals and birds eat its seeds, and elk, grouse and other mountain animals find shelter beneath it." -By Renee Schoof -McClatchyDC.com

_2008 News News Reference December 2008 News
December 8, 2008 News URL: #December-8-2008-News
20081208 Monday

- Mitt Romney - Money - Politics - 2008 Election - 2012 Election - Massachusetts
"Romney paves way for possible '12 run: Bulk of PAC fund goes for political ambitions." ... "Republican Mitt Romney is laying the groundwork for a possible White House campaign in 2012, hiring a team of staff members and consultants with money from a fund-raising committee he established with the ostensible purpose of supporting other GOP candidates." ... "The former Massachusetts governor has raised $2.1 million for his Free and Strong America political action committee. But only 12 percent of the money has been spent distributing checks to Romney's fellow Republicans around the country." ... "Instead, the largest chunk of the money has gone to support Romney's political ambitions, paying for salaries and consulting fees to over a half-dozen of Romney's longtime political aides, according to a Globe review of expenditures." ... "Romney founded the Free and Strong America Committee shortly after dropping out of the 2008 presidential primary. He filled its coffers by telling conservative contributors around the country that their money would be used to support Republican candidates and causes." ... "According to the Globe analysis, he spent $244,000 on contributions to congressional and other candidates between April and the November elections. He has spent more than twice as much on staff salaries and contracts to hire professional fund-raisers, who are compiling contributor lists that will serve Romney well in a future presidential campaign." ... "In essence, Romney is financing a political enterprise that he can use to remain a national GOP leader and use as a springboard should he decide to launch another presidential bid for 2012." - By Frank Phillips -Boston/Globe

- John McCain - Corporate - Politics- Arizona
"Merrill Chief Wants $10-Million Bonus For Presiding Over $11-Billion Loss." ... "Merrill has lost almost $12 billion this year, and is about to be taken over by Bank of America. Its shares have fallen fom $50 when Thain took over late last year to $13.04 at close of trading Friday." ... "It looks like Thain -- who was a major fundraiser for [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]  John McCain's campaign and was described by USA Today as a member of McCain's "team" -- is a practitioner of the bargaining strategy in which you begin with a maximalist offer as a starting point for negotiation:"

"A few months ago, when the board began seriously considering 2008 bonuses, a proposal was presented to the compensation committee by Merrill that Mr. Thain should be paid in excess of $30 million, according to people familiar with the matter. That number has since come down in recent talks with various board members and Mr. Thain has recently indicated to committee members that $5 million to $10 million is more reasonable." [-WSJ]

- Stephen Johnson - Religion - Science - Corporate - Environmental - Politician - RI
"EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson: There’s ‘not a clean-cut division’ between religion and science." ... "A Philadelphia Inquirer profile of [Republican President Bush's Environmetnal Protection Agency] EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson this weekend reveals that the chief steward of our environmental protection is unwilling — or unable — to separate religion from science. The Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson notes that, when questioned by reporters, Stephen Johnson admitted he does not see a “clean-cut division” between the two:"

"It’s not a clean-cut division. If you have studied at all creationism vs. evolution, there’s theistic or God-controlled evolution and there’s variations on all those themes."

- Barack Obama - Medical - Politics - History - Hawaii - US - Japan - Vietnam - Iraq
"Obama Selects Shinseki for Veterans Affairs Secretary." ... "On the 67th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama Sunday nominated [Retired Army General] Gen. Eric Shinseki (Ret.), a Japanese-American born in Obama's home state of Hawaii, to become Secretary of Veterans Affairs." ... "“We owe it to all our veterans to honor them as we honored our greatest generation, not just with words, but with deeds,” said Obama, tasking him with a modernization of the Department so troops get the medical care “far too few” are receiving right now." ... "Obama said Shinseki, the first Asian-American named to his cabinet, was the right person to cut red tape, boost funding, and bring benefits to veterans." ... "“There is no one more distinguished, more determined, or more qualified to build this V.A. [Veterans Affairs] than the leader I’m announcing as our next Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Gen. Eric Shinseki,” Obama said." ... "“No one will ever doubt that this former Army chief of staff has the courage to stand up for our troops and our veterans. No one will ever question whether he will fight hard enough to make sure they have the support that they need.”" ... "The former Army Chief of Staff, criticized years ago by his Pentagon bosses for saying that “several hundred thousand soldiers” would be needed to wage the Iraq war successfully, today pledged to reform the Department to give troops a “smooth, error-free, no-fail, benefits-assured transition into our ranks as veterans.”" ... "“A word to my fellow veterans: if confirmed, I will work each and every day to ensure that we are serving you as well as you have served us. We will pursue a 21st-century V.A. that serves your needs,” promised Shinseki, who lost part of his foot in Vietnam." ... "“We will open doors, new doors of opportunity so you can find a good job, support your families when you return to civilian life. And we will always, we will always honor the sacrifices of those who have worn the uniform and their loved ones.”" -By Matt Jaffe -ABCNEWS.com

- US - Iraq -Corporate - Military - Federal - Investigation
"Blackwater Guards Indicted In Deadly Baghdad Shooting: 5 Face Trial Over Incident That Killed 17 Civilians, Sources Say." ... "Five Blackwater Worldwide Security guards have been charged in a September 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead and raised questions about the U.S. government's use of security contractors in combat zones, according to two sources familiar with the case." ... "The guards, all former U.S. military personnel, worked as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and other nonmilitary officials in Iraq." ... "Federal prosecutors obtained the indictment Thursday, and it was sealed. Channing Phillips, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District, declined to comment on the investigation. The exact nature of the charges could not be determined." ... "The sources said the government is bringing the charges under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which has been previously used to prosecute only cases referred to federal prosecutors by the Defense Department for crimes committed by military personnel overseas." -By Del Quentin Wilber -WashingtonPost

- Auto - Industry - Government - Legislation - Manufacturing - Jobs - Michigan
"Dems, White House Agree To Auto Bailout." ... "After weeks of tense discussions with the heads of the U.S. [United States] auto industry, Democratic Congressional leaders have reached an agreement that may just clear the way for the Big Three to get the money they need to survive ... for now." ... "CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier reports that significant progress came Friday night, when Democrats from both the House and Senate agreed to bail out the struggling General Motors, Chrysler and Ford with federal funds." ... "Several officials say the [Republican President Bush] White House and congressional Democrats have agreed on $15 billion in loans, which is less than half of what the car chiefs were seeking." ... "As executives from Detroit [Michigan] pleaded with lawmakers for loans to help them survive, the government reported the worst single month's job loss in 34 years - 533,000 jobs gone in November - and an unemployment rate of 6.7%." ... "Officials in both parties said the legislation would include creation of a trustee or group of industry overseers to make sure the bailout funds were used to transform General Motors, Ford and Chrysler into competitive enterprises." ... "Democratic leaders insist this money is a loan, not a gift. " -CBSNews

- Unemployment - Economics - Accounting - Politics
"Broader Unemployment Rate Hits 12.5%." ... "The headline unemployment rate of 6.7% in November isn’t the only one the Labor Department reports. [PDF] They also break the rate down by age, gender, ethnicity, and education. And in table A-12, on page 19 of the report, they also share their broadest estimate of the unemployment rate, which includes the total unemployed (the standard rate) plus “all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons… plus all marginally attached workers.”" ... "That rate (called “U-6”) in November? A whopping 12.5%." -By Kelly Evans -WSJ.com

- Employment -Market- Housing - Rebuilding - Roads - Schools - Energy - Obama - Politics
"Employers cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years." ... "Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession." ... "The new figures, released by the Labor Department Friday, showed the crucial employment market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid clip, and handed Americans some more grim news right before the holidays. The net loss of more than a half-million jobs was far worse than analysts expected." ... "The U.S. [United States] tipped into recession last December [2007], a panel of experts declared earlier this week, confirming what many Americans already thought." ... "[Republican] President George W. Bush, who used the word "recession" for the first time to describe the economy's state, pledged Friday to explore more efforts to ease housing, credit and financial stresses." ... "[Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama said the dismal job news underscored the need for forceful action, even as he warned that the pain could not be quickly relieved." ... ""There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis ... and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," Obama said. "At the same time, this ... provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come."" -By Jeannine Aversa -AP via -Yahoo

-Business - History
"Payrolls plunge by stunning 533,000 in November: Jobless rate rises to 15-year high of 6.7%, as recession deepens." ... "U.S. [United States] nonfarm payrolls plunged by an astonishing 533,000 in November -- the worst job loss in 34 years -- the Labor Department reported Friday." ... "It was only the fourth time in the past 58 years that payrolls had fallen by more than 500,000 in a month. Since the recession began 11 months ago, a total of 1.9 million jobs have been lost. Job losses in September and October were revised much lower." ... "In addition to the 533,000 lost jobs, an additional 621,000 workers were pushed into part-time work and 422,000 simply dropped out of the labor force." ... "Over the past three months, 1.26 million jobs have been lost, a pace of job destruction exceeded only once since 1945." ... ""The threat of a widespread depression is now real and present," said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland." -By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch

- John McCain - Sarah Palin - Fashion - Politics - 2008 Election - New York
"RNC spends $180K on Palin and family." ... "Salons and spas, including $350 at Escape Skin Care and Day Spa in New York, were the latest unusual expenses to appear in the Republican National Committee’s coordinated expenses account with the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin] McCain-Palin campaign, according to November reports released late Thursday." ... "Overall, the RNC has reported spending a total of about $180,000 for clothes and various accessories for the family of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, Federal Election Commission records show." ... "Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Limited, Foot Locker, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Victoria’s Secret are all listed in between the expected payments for media buys, direct mail and polling." ... "Thousands of dollars in payments to Macy’s, Nieman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue — all major recipients of RNC cash in early September as Palin upgraded her wardrobe for the campaign — were made in October, too." ... "In addition, hundreds of dollars were also spent at Brooks Brothers, the Gap, Express and J.C. Penney on clothes and accessories, apparently for other members of the vice presidential nominee’s family." -By Jeanne Cummings -Politico.com

- John McCain - Sarah Palin - Fashion - Politics - 2008 Election - Alaska - Florida
"G.O.P. Paid Almost $55,000 for Palin Fashion Stylist." ... "A woman who appears from campaign finance records to have been [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s fashion stylist was paid $54,900 by the Republican National Committee, according to a new report filed with the Federal Election Commission." ... "The newest report appears to show about $23,000 in additional charges labeled as “campaign accessories” from a variety of stores, including Saks, Neiman’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor and Target." ... "Interestingly, in the newest charges on campaign finance records, many of the people who initially footed the charges were campaign staffers, including Andrew Smith, Ms. Palin’s chief of staff, Christopher Edwards, who was in charge of advance for Ms. Palin, and Kristi Pulsfort, a member of the traveling press staff." ... "Mr. Smith apparently footed the bill for more than $3,000 in charges at Aldo (a shoe store chain), Bloomingdales and Macy’s, all in Orlando [Florida], as well as Home Optics, a glasses and contacts store in Chugiak, Alaska, about a half hour from Ms. Palin’s home in Wasilla [Alaska]." ... "A woman named Jeannie Etchart, who appears on the McCain campaign’s payroll, picked up the most in charges, totaling more than $14,000 from places like Banana Republic, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom." -By Michael Luo -NYTimes

-John McCain - Sarah Palin - Fashion - Money - Politics - 2008 Election
"It's not cheap to look like a real American." ... "In just a little over two months, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's campaign and the Republican National Committee together spent a total of almost $340,000 on [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin's appearance, including clothes for her and her family." ... "The final total comes in the wake of disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. First, there was the $150,000 on clothes for the Palin family that sparked the initial interest and controversy in this spending. On top of that, the disclosures show that, overall, Palin's makeup artist was paid $68,400, while her hair stylist got more than $42,000. Her fashion stylist recieved $54,900. In addition to that, as previously reported, there are new charges for clothing for the vice-presidential candidate and her family, which come out to about $23,000." -By Alex Koppelman -Salon

- John McCain - Sarah Palin - Fashion - Politics - 2008 Election - Alaska
"McCain Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin’s Stylists." ... "[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400 and her hair stylist received more than $42,000 for roughly two months of work, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission." ... "Much attention has been paid to the $150,000 the Republican National Committee spent on outfitting Ms. Palin in September at high-end department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, as well as on makeup services." ... "Republican officials said this week that additional clothing charges would appear on the Republican National Committee’s campaign finance report totaling less than $30,000." -By Michael Luo -NYTimes

- Dick Cheney - KBR - Corporation - Iraq - Texas - Indiana - US - Military - Employees - Health
"Ex-Guardsmen sue KBR over alleged poisoning." ... "KBR Inc. [KBR is a former subsidiary of Halliburton, the corporation formerly run by Republican Vice President Dick Cheney] was sued by ex-members of the Indiana National Guard and accused of knowingly exposing employees and the soldiers protecting them to cancer-causing dust at an Iraqi worksite in 2003." ... "Sixteen soldiers said in a complaint in federal court in Evansville, Ind. [Indiana], that Houston[Texas]-based KBR and related companies are responsible for chromium poisoning at Qarmat Ali, Iraq." ... "The plaintiffs, from the Tell City, Ind., Guard unit, were providing security for KBR during repairs of a water-treatment plant, according to the complaint. The site was contaminated for six months by hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen in powdered compounds used to control corrosion, it said." ... "“The Tell City Guardsmen were repeatedly told that there was no danger on site, even after KBR managers knew that blood testing of American civilians exposed onsite confirmed elevated chromium levels,” the soldiers’ lawyers said in court papers." ... "Hexavalent chromium on first exposure causes nosebleeds, respiratory ailments and rashes, which the soldiers said KBR officials told them was caused by dry desert air or sand allergies, according to the complaint. Chromium poisoning is irreversible, it said." ... "KBR sought to conceal the contamination and, once it was discovered, to limit exposed individuals’ knowledge about the level of poisoning they had suffered, the soldiers claimed." ... "Ed Blacke, who worked as a medic at Qarmat Ali, testified that KBR fired him when he discovered the chromium exposure and tried to warn workers." -Bloomberg via -Chron

- Michael Mukasey - Karl Rove - Harriet Miers - US Attorney - Politics - Federal - Investigation
"Federal Prosecutor Is Making Inquiries in the Investigation of the Dismissal of U.S. Attorneys." ... "A prosecutor who is investigating the dismissals of nine [United States] U.S. attorneys has been meeting with defense lawyers, dispatching subpoenas and seeking information about the events, according to legal sources familiar with the case." ... "Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy two months ago, after the department's Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility reported that they had hit a roadblock in their lengthy probe into whether political interference prompted the dismissals. Internal investigators said they had been stymied by the refusal of key witnesses, including former [Republican President Bush] presidential adviser Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers, to cooperate." ... "By naming a federal prosecutor to determine whether crimes have been committed, the attorney general ensured that authorities would have the power to compel testimony and documents. Dannehy, a longtime assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut, in recent weeks has met with lawyers and government officials involved in the case. A grand jury in the District has issued subpoenas, the sources said." ... "The requests for documents could provoke another legal skirmish in a fight over the scope of executive power wielded by the Bush administration." -By Carrie Johnson -WashingtonPost

- Health Care - Politics - Economics - Seniors - Labor Unions - Lawyers - Government
"Health-Care Reform Could Kill the GOP." ... "Can policy be both wise and aggressively partisan? Ask any Republican worth his salt and the answer will be an unequivocal yes. Ask a Democrat of the respectable Beltway variety and he will twist himself into a pretzel denying it." ... "For decades Republicans have made policy with a higher purpose in mind: to solidify the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party= Republican] base or to damage the institutions and movements aligned with the other side. One of their fondest slogans is "Defund the Left," and under that banner they have attacked labor unions and trial lawyers and tried to sever the links between the lobbying industry and the Democratic Party. Consider as well their long-cherished dreams of privatizing Social Security, which would make Wall Street, instead of Washington, the protector of our beloved seniors. Or their larger effort to demonstrate, by means of egregious misrule, that government is incapable of delivering the most basic services." ... "That these were all disastrous policies made no difference: The goal was to use state power to achieve lasting victory for the ideas of the right." ... "On the other side of the political fence, strategic moves of this kind are fairly rare. Instead, for most of my lifetime, prominent Democratic leaders have been chucking liberalism itself for the sake of immediate tactical gain." ... "Former [Democratic] President Bill Clinton, who is widely regarded as a political mastermind, may have sounded like a traditional liberal at the beginning of his term in office. But what ultimately defined his presidency was his amazing pliability on matters of principle. His most memorable innovation was "triangulating" between his own party and the right, his most famous speech declared and end to "the era of big government," his most consequential policy move was to cement the consensus on deregulation and free trade, and many of his boldest stands were taken against his own party." ... "The results were not pretty, either for the Democrats or for the nation." ... "Still, conservatives have always dreaded the day that Democrats discover (or rediscover) that there is a happy political synergy between delivering liberal economic reforms and building the liberal movement. The classic statement of this fear is a famous memo that [Republican] Bill Kristol wrote in 1993, when he had just started out as a political strategist and the Clinton administration was preparing to propose some version of national health care." ... ""The plan should not be amended; it should be erased," Mr. Kristol advised the GOP. And not merely because Mr. Clinton's scheme was (in Mr. Kristol's view) bad policy, but because "it will revive the reputation of the party that spends and regulates, the Democrats, as the generous protector of middle-class interests."" -By Thomas Frank -HuffingtonPost.com

- Barack Obama - Stephen Johnson - Water - Earth - Coal - Companies - Government - Law - Enforcement - Politics - Kentucky - Tennessee
"EPA to gut mountaintop mining rule that protects streams." ... "The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday approved a last-minute rule change by the [Republican President] Bush administration that will allow coal companies to bury streams under the rocks leftover from mining." ... "The 1983 rule prohibited dumping the fill from mountaintop removal mining within 100 feet of streams. In practice, the government hadn't been enforcing the rule. Government figures show that 535 miles of streams were buried or diverted from 2001 to 2005, more than half of them in the mountains of Appalachia. Along with the loss of the streams has been an increase of erosion and flooding." ... "The 11th hour change before President George W. Bush leaves office would eliminate a tool that citizens groups have used in lawsuits to keep mining waste out of streams. Mining companies had been pushing for the change for years." ... "It also means that [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama's administration will have to decide whether to try to restore and enforce the rule, a process that could take many months of new rulemaking. Obama's transition team declined to comment on its plans on Tuesday." ... "Another option would be for opponents to go through the courts. Opponents have argued that the rule change is illegal." ... "For now, however, the EPA's approval means there are no further obstacles to the Office of Surface Mining's plans to change the rule. The White House's Office of Management and Budget approved it on Monday. The Department of Interior, which includes the mining office, plans to make the rule final in December after briefing members of Congress, and it will go into effect 30 days after that, said spokesman Peter Mali." ... "The timing means the rule is expected to be in effect when Obama takes office in January." ... "In approving the change in writing as required by law, [Republican President Bush's Environmental Protection Agency] EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson rejected the appeals of environmentalists and some coal-country officials, including Kentucky [Democratic Governor] Gov. Steve Beshear and Tennessee [Democratic Governor] Gov. Phil Bredesen, both Democrats." ... "In a letter in November to Johnson, Beshear said his state had to protect its water and that while coal was important to the economy, it should be mined in environmentally responsible ways." -By Renee Schoof and Bill Estep -Herald-Leader -McClatchyDC.com

- Dick Cheney -KBR - Corporation - Military - Laborers - Human Rights - Texas - US - Iraq - India - Nepal - Sri Lanka - Bangladesh
"Military contractor in Iraq holds foreign workers in warehouses." ... "About 1,000 Asian men who were hired by a Kuwaiti subcontractor to the U.S. [United States] military have been confined for as long as three months in windowless warehouses near the Baghdad [Iraq's capital] airport without money or a place to work." ... "Najlaa International Catering Services, a subcontractor to KBR [formerly a Halliburton subsidiary, the corporation formerly run by Republican Vice President Dick Cheney], an engineering, construction and services company, hired the men, who're from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. On Tuesday, they staged a march outside their compound to protest their living conditions." ... "The laborers said they paid middlemen more than $2,000 to get to Iraq for jobs that they were told would earn them $600 to $800 a month." ... "The conditions in which the men have been held appear to violate guidelines the U.S. military handed down in 2006 that urged contractors to deter human trafficking to the war zone by shunning recruiters that charged excessive fees." -By Adam Ashton -McClatchyDC.com