Obama names third Republican to cabinet A further bow to the right
By Barry Grey 4 February 2009 Barack Obama deepened his extraordinary efforts at bipartisan collaboration with the Republican Party on Tuesday with the announcement of New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg as his pick for commerce secretary. Judd’s confirmation by the Senate, which is virtually assured, will bring to three the number of Republicans in Obama’s cabinet, including the unprecedented retention of Bush’s defense secretary, Robert Gates. The other Republican cabinet member is former congressman Ray LaHood, picked to head the Department of Transportation. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/obam-f04.shtml Tom Daschle withdraws cabinet nomination amidst tax scandal By Joe Kishore 4 February 2009 Tom Daschle, Barack Obama’s pick for health and human services secretary, unexpectedly withdrew his nomination on Tuesday, amidst a scandal involving unpaid taxes. Daschle’s resignation came a day after Obama declared he “absolutely” continued to support the nomination. Last month, Daschle paid nearly $130,000 in back taxes related to a Cadillac and chauffeur provided him by his former employer and political supporter, multimillionaire investor Leo Hindery. The belated tax payment came once it was clear that Daschle would be tapped for a position in the new Obama administration, and therefore would have to disclose his finances. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/dasc-f04.shtml US military suicide rate at record high By James Cogan 4 February 2009 American troops are taking their own lives in the largest numbers since records began to be kept in 1980. In 2008, there were 128 confirmed suicides by serving army personnel and 41 by serving marines. Another 15 army deaths are still being investigated. The toll is another of the terrible consequences that have flowed from Washington's neo-colonial wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The army suicide rate is now higher than that among the general American population. The rate has been calculated as 20.2 per 100,000 soldiers, compared with 19.5 per 100,000 civilians. This is a shocking statistic, as soldiers theoretically are screened for mental illnesses before enlistment and have access to counselling and health services that millions of ordinary people cannot afford. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/suic-f04.shtml Obama prepares another trillion-dollar bank bailout 3 February 2009 While most media attention is focused this week on the Senate debate on the economic stimulus package, the Obama administration is preparing to roll out a new plan to bail out the banks, involving a trillion dollars or more in public assets. Under the plan, which Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to announce within the next two weeks, the government will buy up virtually worthless mortgage-backed securities and other "toxic" assets held by the banks and provide guarantees against future losses for much of their remaining assets. It will also continue to inject cash directly into the banks. Well aware of popular opposition to the Wall Street bailout, the White House and the media are engaged in a calculated campaign to soften up public opinion and pave the way for a taxpayer handout to the financial elite even bigger than the $700 billion already doled out in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which was rushed through Congress last autumn with the support of then-presidential candidate Obama. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/pers-f03.shtml Obama executive orders continue “extraordinary renditions,” secret CIA prisons By Tom Eley 3 February 2009 Analysis of the executive orders US President Barack Obama signed on January 22 shows that the Untied States will continue to be heavily involved in illegal practices including kidnapping, secret detention and torture. The orders ostensibly ended torture and a network of secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prison camps. The Los Angeles Times published a report on the executive orders, however, showing that they allow the continued use of "extraordinary rendition" by the CIA, whereby the US secretly abducts individuals it claims are terrorists, sending them to nations that practice torture. (See "Obama preserves renditions as counter-terrorism tool.") http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/rend-f03.shtml --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
