sebastianjer's WunderBlog

"I fear a large percentage, perhaps a majority, of American Politicians believe they were elected not to serve citizens, but rather to govern them.

Even more I fear that a large percentage, perhaps a majority, of American citizens do not see the danger in this or are even amicable to this relationship."
_______________________________________________________________
Articles I find interesting, comment as you wish


Create your own visitor map!

****************************************************************
CLICK ON LINK FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE
____________________________________________________________________

11-18-2008

11-19-2008

‘Al Qaeda’ operative among five killed in US strike

BANNU: A missile strike by a suspected US drone killed at least five people including foreigners in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, security officials said on Wednesday.
The attack marked the first US missile strike outside of the rugged tribal regions which have become safe havens for militants linked to Taliban and Al Qaeda, one Pakistani security official said....


The story of how Rahm got rich

...Frequently, Emanuel turned big Democratic donors and others he’d met during his White House years into clients for Wasserstein Perella, a firm that was led by Bruce Wasserstein, a hefty financial supporter of Clinton....

related-Emanuel Was Director Of Freddie Mac During Scandal

John Paulson Buys Mortgage Bonds as Hedge Fund Losses Widen

...The $1.65 trillion hedge fund industry is enduring its worst period in at least eight years as global declines in stocks and commodity prices led to investment losses and customers withdrew a net $62.7 billion from the funds last month, Singapore-based Eurekahedge reported. Assets may fall to about $1 trillion by the middle of next year, analysts at New York-based Citigroup Inc. estimated in a report published earlier this week....


The Trouble With Eric Holder


...If that's unsettling, consider the fact that Holder was part of the legal team that in 2005 developed strategies for securing re-authorization of the Patriot Act. ...

related-Confirming Fears


Leaking Like a Sieve: Gates to Stay On?

...Obviously, it's difficult to keep these sorts of high profile disucssions under wraps. Nevertheless, the speed at which the revelations are coming from anonymous sources has to be somewhat disconcerting for the Obama team which prided itself on being leak free throughout the longest and most intensely covered campaign in history. An alternate explanation is that they are purposefully floating these names as trial balloons to see whether they rise or sink, which isn't out of the question but would also be disconcerting in and of itself.

Obama Signals Tougher Regulations at Federal Agencies

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama is signaling by a combination of words and deeds that his administration will toughen regulations at federal agencies that oversee consumer products, environmental policy and workplace safety....

Plane to monitor Brazilian tribes

The Brazilian authorities are to use a plane equipped with body-heat sensors to monitor uncontacted Indian tribes in the Amazon from a distance.

Brazil has a policy of leaving such isolated indigenous groups in peace unless it is absolutely necessary to make contact.

Officials say the plane will help them to protect remote communities without interrupting their way of life.

Some 39 isolated groups are believed to be living in the Amazon region....

Emanuel Sets a Challenge

"When it gets rough out there, a lot of business leaders get out of the car and say, 'We're OK with minor reform.' I'm challenging you today, we're going to have to do big, serious things," Rahm Emanuel said, speaking to The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council, a conference convened to elicit corporate opinion on the challenges facing the new president.

Since the president-elect named Mr. Emanuel his chief of staff, the famously voluble Chicago congressman has limited his public appearances and strained to stay out of the news. But on Tuesday night, he was combative with a business audience....


Ex-Khmer Rouge admirer says sorry

..."I was at that time a member of a friendship association which was a remnant of the anti-Vietnam/Cambodia War movement in Sweden, which was very strong in the Western world," Mr Bergstrom told the BBC.

"Of course we didn't want to believe that the liberators had become oppressors."

The Swedish group were far from unique in their long-distance support of communist groups in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos...

...Within months of his visit, Vietnamese-backed forces ousted the Khmer Rouge, and the full horror of the Pol Pot era finally became public knowledge.

Mr Bergstrom's support of the revolution came to an abrupt halt....

Gay-oriented school plan halted

The team behind a plan to open Chicago's first public high school aimed at gay and lesbian students pulled the plug today, faced with criticism from Mayor Richard Daley and some ministers and an internal split about whether a revamped version "watered down" the vision....