We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. More than 27 million American workers are either unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work. The immediate cause of this economic catastrophe is the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior of a small number of Wall Street firms that brought the financial system to the verge of collapse.
McClatchy
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Washington Bureau
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Commentary: Break up those 'too big to fail' firms
22 Nov 2009 | 3:52 am -
Commentary: Federal court can handle 9-11 trials
22 Nov 2009 | 3:29 amReasonable, intelligent people can disagree over whether five accused 9-11 conspirators should be tried in federal courts in New York City for that day's horrendous destruction. But too much of the criticism against Attorney General Eric Holder's choice of civilian federal courts borders on apoplexy rather than reasonable disagreement. More columns by Linda Campbell at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram -
Commentary: The right to a great public education
22 Nov 2009 | 3:07 amWe've got to stop cutting public education. To ease the budget crisis, one state after another is taking an ax to higher education. This is cruel and shortsighted. Cruel because it denies students the right to a decent education. Shortsighted because how will this generation of students get prepared to compete globally or even to clean up the financial mess brought about by Wall Street? http://www.progressive.org/pmpabout.html#anchorsupport -
Commentary: Obama dug a deep hole in Honduras by trying to save a Chavez wannabe
22 Nov 2009 | 3:07 amIn Honduras, Barack Obama's foreign policy team finally rediscovered the first law of holes: when you find yourself stuck in one, the first thing to do is stop digging. The U.S. State Department has been busily digging a diplomatic crater since June 28. That's when the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court ousted then-President Manuel Zelaya from office due to his unconstitutional bid to eliminate term limits. Rather than side with the democratic institutions of the land, our State Department surprisingly backed Zelaya's demand for a return to power. -
From DC to SC, bitter dispute over stimulus jobs
22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amThere's no need to go to Washington to hear the increasingly shrill arguments over phantom congressional districts and the number of jobs created by the $787 billion economic-stimulus plan.
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Latest Headlines
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From DC to SC, bitter dispute over stimulus jobs
22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amThere's no need to go to Washington to hear the increasingly shrill arguments over phantom congressional districts and the number of jobs created by the $787 billion economic-stimulus plan. -
Algerian is 31st Guantanamo detainee ordered freed
20 Nov 2009 | 4:04 pmA federal judge Friday ordered the Obama administration to free a long-held Guantanamo captive who fled his native Algeria years ago and kicked around Europe as a construction worker for a decade before his capture in Pakistan. Judge Gladys Kessler's order to free Farhi Saeed bin Mohammed, 48, is still under seal, so her precise findings have not been made public. -
Is imam a terror recruiter or just an incendiary preacher?
20 Nov 2009 | 3:27 pmThe Yemeni-American imam who's been under renewed scrutiny after the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, preaches against alcohol, birthday parties, black magic and extramarital sex. He also supports armed struggle — jihad — against the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has encouraged extremist insurgents in Pakistan and Somalia. -
Despite U.S. pressures, Pakistan continues to follow its own road
20 Nov 2009 | 3:21 pmThe Pakistani government has some advice the Obama administration may not want to hear as it contemplates sending additional U.S. troops to neighboring Afghanistan: Negotiate with Taliban leaders and restrain India. -
Ashcroft: Trying terrorists in federal court jeopardizes U.S.
20 Nov 2009 | 12:50 pmFormer Attorney General John Ashcroft said today that prosecuting terrorists in federal court in New York City rather than a military tribunal jeopardizes the safety of Americans.
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Nation
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From DC to SC, bitter dispute over stimulus jobs
22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amThere's no need to go to Washington to hear the increasingly shrill arguments over phantom congressional districts and the number of jobs created by the $787 billion economic-stimulus plan. -
Will Palin's book tour jump-start a political movement?
21 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pmWith her campaign-style bus and adoring crowds, Sarah Palin's swing through red zones of bluish states to promote her new book has appeared to be something more than a book tour. -
Air Force flying a different breed of warrior: dolphins
21 Nov 2009 | 11:54 amThe Air Force's 446th Airlift Wing will leave McChord Air Force Base in Washington state Saturday with four bottlenose dolphins who'll help find more than 200 World War II mines near the South Pacific island of New Caledonia. -
Levi Johnston's mother, Sherry, sentenced to prison for selling OxyContin
20 Nov 2009 | 7:38 pmSherry Johnston was sentenced today to three years in prison for dealing OxyContin. Johnston, 43, is the mother of Levi Johnston, who is the father of Gov. Sarah Palin's grandchild, Tripp. -
Hog farmers struggle as pork producers go belly up
20 Nov 2009 | 4:52 pmThe recent bankruptcies of four Eastern North Carolina pork producers concerns hog farmers, who fear that fear that other companies could go under or greatly reduce their contracts, further damaging the region's economy.
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World
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Is imam a terror recruiter or just an incendiary preacher?
20 Nov 2009 | 3:12 pmThe Yemeni-American imam who's been under renewed scrutiny after the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, preaches against alcohol, birthday parties, black magic and extramarital sex. He also supports armed struggle — jihad — against the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has encouraged extremist insurgents in Pakistan and Somalia. -
Despite U.S. pressures, Pakistan continues to follow its own road
20 Nov 2009 | 2:12 pmThe Pakistani government has some advice the Obama administration may not want to hear as it contemplates sending additional U.S. troops to neighboring Afghanistan: Negotiate with Taliban leaders and restrain India. -
Couple plead guilty to Cuba spying, will go to prison
20 Nov 2009 | 11:42 amA retired State Department employee and his wife are expected to plead guilty Friday in federal court to charges that they have been spying for Cuba for decades. Walter Kendall Myers, 72, and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71, have been held without bond since pleading not guilty in June to charges of wire fraud, serving as illegal agents for Cuba and conspiring to deliver classified information. Cuba coverage from The Miami Herald -
Clinton, warlord Dostum are honored guests at Karzai fete
19 Nov 2009 | 3:15 pmPresident Hamid Karzai began his second term Thursday under international pressure to select a Cabinet that can regain the trust of disillusioned Afghans, quash widespread government corruption and build a reliable military that can take charge of his country's defense. Read our in-depth coverage of Pakistan and Afghanistan -
Obama's Asia trip yields few concrete achievements
18 Nov 2009 | 10:28 pmThe tightly scheduled trip yielded few concrete accomplishments for Obama. No global warming deal. No movement on a South Korea free trade package. No progress with China on disputes over its currency valuation. Obama and his advisers are calling the trip a success anyway, because of their higher-altitude goals. Planet Washington Blog - Musings from the Capitol
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Politics
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Will Palin's book tour jump-start a political movement?
21 Nov 2009 | 12:44 pmWith her campaign-style bus and adoring crowds, Sarah Palin's swing through red zones of bluish states to promote her new book has appeared to be something more than a book tour. -
Senate votes to begin debate on health care overhaul
21 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pmThe Senate voted 60-39 Saturday to clear the way for consideration of historic legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system, but reluctant Democratic moderates sent strong signals that the bill has an uncertain future. -
Girl accuses Sacramento mayor of offering her hush money
20 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pmSacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson offered to pay $1,000 a month to one of three girls who had accused him of inappropriately touching her while she was involved in his St. HOPE Hood Corps program, the girl told federal agents during their investigation of Johnson's nonprofit St. HOPE organization last year. -
Lawmaker asks people to stop complaining, and gets an earful
20 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pmRep. Emanuel Cleaver wanted people to stop complaining for a day and count their blessings. What he got, however, was just more complaints. -
For central California lawmakers, fundraising never stops
20 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pmThe dollar chase never stops for California incumbents and challengers alike, who keep busy raising campaign funds for themselves and for others.
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Economics
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From DC to SC, bitter dispute over stimulus jobs
22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amThere's no need to go to Washington to hear the increasingly shrill arguments over phantom congressional districts and the number of jobs created by the $787 billion economic-stimulus plan. -
Senate votes to begin debate on health care overhaul
21 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pmThe Senate voted 60-39 Saturday to clear the way for consideration of historic legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system, but reluctant Democratic moderates sent strong signals that the bill has an uncertain future. -
Hog farmers struggle as pork producers go belly up
20 Nov 2009 | 4:52 pmThe recent bankruptcies of four Eastern North Carolina pork producers concerns hog farmers, who fear that fear that other companies could go under or greatly reduce their contracts, further damaging the region's economy. -
Shoe drive helps homeless across the U.S.
20 Nov 2009 | 2:28 pmKevin Duckett, originally from Pittsburgh, was among the first to benefit from a national program that provides shoes for those in need. Naomi Shields of Advanced Orthopaedic Associates in Wichita has been working for over a year in partnership with Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization that holds shoe drives around the country. -
Pork buyers go bankrupt leaving farmers with excess of pigs
20 Nov 2009 | 1:52 pmOn a recent camping trip with his son's Cub Scout troop, Curtis Barwick ended a talk about his job managing contracts for the now-bankrupt Coharie Hog Farms with a desperate plea. "I really don't care if you eat the sausage or not," Barwick told the Scouts. "Just buy it."
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White House
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GOP senators, Holder clash over New York trials for 9/11 plot
18 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pmAttorney General Eric Holder said he foresaw no judicial obstacles to convicting the five terrorism suspects and putting them to death, despite complaints from the Republican senators about the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other accused terrorist conspirators in New York. Meanwhile, Obama said he was confident they'll be found guilty. -
New president, same result on China currency flap
17 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pmChina's rebuff this week of President Barack Obama's call to stop controlling the price of its currency sparked renewed calls for legislation to allow U.S. retaliation against Chinese-made goods. -
Obama orders financial fraud task force beefed up
17 Nov 2009 | 2:47 pmCiting a wide belief that "Wall Street does not play by the same rules as Main Street," Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday the creation of a sweeping state-federal task force to uncover crimes contributing to the recent financial crisis or threatening to cause one in the future. -
China, U.S. announce they'll work together on clean energy
17 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pmPresident Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao agreed Tuesday that U.S. and Chinese scientists and engineers will work together to speed the widespread use of electric cars, buildings that need far less energy and coal-fired power plants that don't pump out gases that cause global warming. -
Book: Edwards tried to trade Obama endorsement for VP nod
17 Nov 2009 | 7:23 amDemocrat John Edwards tried to cut a secret deal with both Barack Obama and perhaps Hillary Clinton during last year's presidential primaries, offering his endorsement in exchange for the vice presidential nomination, according to a new book by Obama's campaign manager. Obama ruled out any deals, and Edwards' endorsement in May 2008 anyway.
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Congress
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Senate votes to begin debate on health care overhaul
21 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pmThe Senate voted 60-39 Saturday to clear the way for consideration of historic legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system, but reluctant Democratic moderates sent strong signals that the bill has an uncertain future. -
Lawmaker asks people to stop complaining, and gets an earful
20 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pmRep. Emanuel Cleaver wanted people to stop complaining for a day and count their blessings. What he got, however, was just more complaints. -
For central California lawmakers, fundraising never stops
20 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pmThe dollar chase never stops for California incumbents and challengers alike, who keep busy raising campaign funds for themselves and for others. -
Cosmetic surgeons frown on Senate's 'botax' plan
20 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pmIf you're considering Botox to erase frown lines or liposuction to get rid of love handles, you might want to move fast. The "botax" may be on the way. -
Senate girds for Saturday vote and long battle on health care
19 Nov 2009 | 3:47 pmThe Senate Thursday began what promises to be a bitter, lengthy battle over the future of health care in America, and taxes, abortion, affordability and federal deficits emerged as key flashpoints. Senate health care bill Read more McClatchy coverage of the health care overhaul debate
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Iraq
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Soldier's family brings fight with contractor to Congress
18 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pmArmy Lt. Col. Dominic "Rocky" Baragona was killed in Iraq on the very day that he was going home. He was en route, heading south on the road between Baghdad and Kuwait City, when a tractor-trailer lost control, jackknifed across the highway and crushed his Humvee. His parents, Dominic and Vilma Baragona, and a sister, were on Capitol Hill Wednesday to tell a Senate hearing how their quest for justice after his death has been a frustrating effort. -
Iraqi elections in jeopardy as Sunni VP vetoes key law
18 Nov 2009 | 6:36 amIraq's pivotal national elections were thrown back into turmoil and potential delay Wednesday, after Vice President Tariq al Hashemi vetoed part of an election law and sent it back to parliament. Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim, charged that the measure doesn't provide adequate representation for millions of displaced Iraqis, most of whom are thought to be Sunnis. -
Assailants massacre Sunni men, youths in Iraq's Abu Ghraib
15 Nov 2009 | 9:53 pmIn a massacre that revived memories of Iraq's worst years of sectarian bloodshed, assailants dressed in Iraqi army uniforms savagely killed 13 men and boys late Sunday near the restive city of Abu Ghraib, according to Iraqi officials and villagers. -
Accustomed to danger, Iraqi journalists now face legal attacks
13 Nov 2009 | 12:11 pmWarid Badr Salim's front-page satire in last Saturday's edition of the newspaper al Mada compared Iraq's parliament to wolves stalking sheep — the Iraqi people — and cheekily suggested that its members need the diplomatic passports they've awarded themselves just to leave Baghdad's fortresslike Green Zone. -
Along Baghdad street, a debate over limits of free expression
13 Nov 2009 | 12:10 pmYaser Adnan, who owns a bookstore on Baghdad's Mutanabi Street, got new regulations from Iraq's Ministry of Culture last July. Trucks full of his books now sit at Iraq's borders for two to three weeks while he runs the list of titles by the authorities and gets the multiple approvals he needs to import them.
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Washington
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From DC to SC, bitter dispute over stimulus jobs
22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 amThere's no need to go to Washington to hear the increasingly shrill arguments over phantom congressional districts and the number of jobs created by the $787 billion economic-stimulus plan. -
Senate votes to begin debate on health care overhaul
21 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pmThe Senate voted 60-39 Saturday to clear the way for consideration of historic legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system, but reluctant Democratic moderates sent strong signals that the bill has an uncertain future. -
Lawmaker asks people to stop complaining, and gets an earful
20 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pmRep. Emanuel Cleaver wanted people to stop complaining for a day and count their blessings. What he got, however, was just more complaints. -
For central California lawmakers, fundraising never stops
20 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pmThe dollar chase never stops for California incumbents and challengers alike, who keep busy raising campaign funds for themselves and for others. -
Cosmetic surgeons frown on Senate's 'botax' plan
20 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pmIf you're considering Botox to erase frown lines or liposuction to get rid of love handles, you might want to move fast. The "botax" may be on the way.
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Science
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U.S. losing its lead in space, experts warn Congress
19 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pmAmerica's once clear dominance in space is eroding as other nations, including China, Iran and North Korea, step up their activities, a panel of experts told the House subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Thursday. -
Scientists: Despite rumors, the world won't end in 2012
19 Nov 2009 | 11:44 amAs moviegoers across the nation watched the end of the world with the opening of "2012" last week, news of Earth's demise spread quickly across the Web. Scientists, fed up with the misleading prophecies, quickly set the record straight with their own series of articles and a YouTube video. -
Genome advances promise personalized medical treatment
16 Nov 2009 | 12:48 pmA whirlwind of activity is under way to apply the findings of the $3 billion Human Genome Project to improve health care in the United States and around the world. -
New chewing gum may help soldiers fight 'trench mouth'
11 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pmWith the help of a gum chomping machine and years of careful chemistry, University of Kentucky researchers have developed a chewing gum that can help replace toothpaste and a toothbrush, thus improving the health of soldiers in the field as well as children in poor countries. -
U.N. leader urges Senate to speed up climate effort
10 Nov 2009 | 4:31 pmUnited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon met with Senate Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday and urged them to save international climate talks next month by speeding up work on a climate and energy bill.
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Environment
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Letters from noted environmentalist, Muir, posted on Internet
20 Nov 2009 | 1:46 pmA trove of some 6,500 letters to and from renowned California conservationist John Muir is now available on the Internet. -
Manure to biofuels concept big in Kentucky
20 Nov 2009 | 1:16 pmWith at least 300 horses stabled at Keeneland at any time, and as many as 1,900 during peak horse sales, disposing of tons of straw and manure shoveled every day from barn stalls becomes a major environmental challenge for the race track. -
Kansas City labeled habitual violator of Clean Air Act
20 Nov 2009 | 4:20 amThe Kansas City area has violated the federal Clean Air Act, exceeding the ozone standard eight times over the summer, Missouri officials said Thursday. That makes Kansas City a habitual violator because it has exceeded the federal standard for three consecutive summers. -
Research funded by oil interests claims icy spills easier to clean
18 Nov 2009 | 3:48 amScientists funded by Shell and six other oil companies say that cleaning up oil spills in Arctic ice is in many respects easier than cleaning it from open water. The researchers' preliminary findings conflict with the conventional wisdom about how spills in Arctic ice would be difficult, if not impossible, to clean up. Environment news from McClatchy DC News on the environment from The Anchorage Daily News -
China, U.S. announce they'll work together on clean energy
17 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pmPresident Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao agreed Tuesday that U.S. and Chinese scientists and engineers will work together to speed the widespread use of electric cars, buildings that need far less energy and coal-fired power plants that don't pump out gases that cause global warming.
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Blog: Planet Washington
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White House tries to give Senate vote a boost
20 Nov 2009 | 5:56 pmNo surprise here, but on the eve of a crucial Senate vote on health care reform, the White House said Friday evening it "strongly supports" the $848 billion bill. The Senate is scheduled to vote, starting at 8 p.m. Saturday, on whether to end a Republican-led filibuster and proceed to formal consideration of the health care overhaul. The White House made it clear it likes the bill, saying it "represents a critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system." It cites data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which issued its preliminary analysis… -
Obama drop below 50 % approval could spell big Dem losses
20 Nov 2009 | 10:33 amPresident Barack Obama dropped below 50 percent in his job approval rating in another poll Friday -- a politically dangerous trend that could spell major trouble in next year’s elections if it’s not reversed. The Gallup Poll found 49 percent of Americans approving of the way Obama is doing his job, calling it the 4th fastest drop to the sub-50 mark in more than half a century. It follows polls by Quinnipiac University and Fox News earlier this week that also found Obama dropping below majority approval for the first time. “Of the post-World War II presidents, Obama now is the fourth… -
Which recession is worse, Reagan's or Obama's?
20 Nov 2009 | 9:11 amWhich recession was worse, the double dip recession under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s or the current one under George W. Bush and Barack Obama? Sarah Palin says it was worse under Reagan, and that he “showed us” the way out, presumably with tax cuts and a massive arms buildup. Now politifact.com, the nonpartisan truth squad, compares the two recessions on all kind sof criteria, including unemployment, long term unemployment, income, and the value sof stocks. It’s conclusion? The Bush-Obama recession is worse, and Palin is wrong. “It's no secret that… -
Obama group hits back at Palin
20 Nov 2009 | 7:41 amPresident Barack Obama’s political operation shot back at Sarah Plain Friday, saying she sets the agenda for the right and that she’s using the publicity surrounding her book tour to try to stop health care legislation with false attacks. “Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn,” said an email from Mitch Stewart, director of Organizing for America, Obama’s political operation. “It's dangerous. Remember, this is the person who coined the term `Death Panels’ -- and opened… -
House foreign affairs chief says no harm, no foul on Ros-Lehtinen's brush with military brass
20 Nov 2009 | 7:39 amCalifornia Democrat Howard Berman said he's not particularly exercised over the spat between the ranking Republican on his House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting and retired Gen. Barry McCaffery. The tussle came as McCaffery testified in favor of lifting the decades-old ban against travel to Cuba. Miami Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen -- who backs the travel ban as a sanction against the Castro regime -- was asking McCaffery about previous statements he's made when he took exception to her aggressive questioning and suggested she not only questioned his national security…
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Blog: Nukes & Spooks
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Has the Obama administration begun the sales pitch for its new Afghan policy?
20 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pmWhen an administration changes its stance on something, it often does so subtlety. After all, who wants to boast of changing his or her mind, which suggests that he or she might have been wrong at one point? So when an administration wants to change its position on something, it sends key policymakers out to start telegraphing the change in their talking points. They tweak a sentence or the official answer to a commonly-asked question in a way that only those who follow the issue closely are likely to catch. Usually, a coterie of policymakers working on the same issue alter… -
Army backs down, lets media into Palin event
19 Nov 2009 | 4:01 pmWell, the Sarah Palin book tour is coming to some military bases. It is not surprising since McCain/Palin ticket had large support from the military As such, fans are eagerly planninng to line up at Fort Bragg to get their copies of “Going Rogue” signed by the vice presidential candidate herself. The Army had announced that the media, however, could not cover the event. We are now hearing they are planning to media in. Read the latest here. According to this Associated Press report, the Army was going to keep the media out because it feared that the signing will turn… -
The SECDEF aka the Plumber
16 Nov 2009 | 2:11 pmIf you have been reading the coverage of the debate within the Obama administration about the way ahead in Afghanistan, you quickly noticed much of it hinged on unnamed sources. At the Pentagon, they were not hard to find…until now. The military wants a decision about what to in Afghanistan as they feel is time is wasting away. Indeed, violence against Afghans and troops alike are at their highest levels of this eight-year war. And a resurgent Taliban is taking over large swaths of the country. Some feel the president is not properly supporting his top commander in Afghanistan, who has… -
The facts on Fort Hood
10 Nov 2009 | 12:31 pmLet me begin by saying I know how overwhelming the events at Fort Hood have been for all those who serve. The idea that someone, whatever his reasons, would shoot fellow soldiers hits the military like “a punch in the gut,” as so many soldiers have said to me. I understand that times like these are incredibly stressful for those tasked to get information out as quickly as possible. That said, I feel compelled as a journalist to explain to you, dear reader, why you have been hearing so many conflicting stats and details about the incident; the Army’s effort to get details out on… -
Gates gets H1N1 vaccine; Obama does not
4 Nov 2009 | 2:10 pmBelieve of not, who gets an H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine – and who chooses not to in light of the vaccine shortage – has become a political issue in this town. The White House announced that President and Mrs. Obama would not get the vaccine until “needs of the priority groups identified by the CDC – including young people under the age of 24, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions – have been met.” A White House physician administered vaccines obtained through the D.C. Department of Health to the Obamas’ daughters, Malia and Sasha. On Wednesday,…
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Blog: Suits & Sentences
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Listen up, all you prisoner litigants
20 Nov 2009 | 8:22 amConvicted bank robber Ronald Mitchell is the epitome of the abusive litigant. As the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals noted Friday:"(Mitchell) has filed at least sixty-five unsuccessful lawsuits and appeals in the federal courts, virtually all ofwhich challenged the legality of his conviction."Vexing!And in the ruling, the appellate panel rejected Mitchell's latest effort to proceed in forma pauperis. In other words, citing Mitchell's vexingly long litigation history, the appellate court said he'll have to pay his full court fees if he wants to continue.But here's the… -
Anti-Bush protesters' ruling tossed by DC Circuit
20 Nov 2009 | 7:58 amThe D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has now delivered a victory for Washington, D.C. police accused of violating the constitutional rights of Washington, D.C. protesters.Mass arrests will now be easier than ever.In a ruling Friday, a somewhat divided three-member appellate panel partially reversed a trial judge's 2008 decision that the police had acted improperly when they conducted a mass roundup of demonstrators. Activist Sarah Carr and others had filed a class action suit, alleging the January 2005 roundup violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights, in part because police… -
Bribes for oil for food for terror
19 Nov 2009 | 9:41 amA lawsuit charging that notorious well-known Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt, Jr. facilitated Iraqi acts of terror by paying bribes is now being transferred to Wyatt's home turf.On Thursday, in what appears to be a victory for Wyatt's defense team, U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. agreed to toss the lawsuit over to the Southern District of Texas. Reasoned Judge Kennedy:"The major activities associated with the surcharge scheme that underlies plaintiffs’ claims, including the execution of oil contracts, occurred in Houston."This case is amazing, though perhaps a long… -
Hollywood grunt learns hard lesson: Trust no one
19 Nov 2009 | 8:20 amHollywood. The land of broken dreams and broken promises. Where you hold your friends close and your enemies closer. Where betrayal and backstabbing comes with the turf. Where..You catch the drift. We're totally talking Noir City.So now, add Kristen Lewandowski to the roster of the disenchanted. A case recently decided by a Department of Labor Administrative Review Board lays bare Lewandowski's sobering introduction to the ways of the entertainment world. Unfortunately for Lewandowski, she lost her whistleblowing complaint against Paramount Pictures. Fortunately for those who seek to… -
Justice Kennedy and the press
18 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pmThe Wall Street Journal's Jess Bravin has this follow-up to the much-blogged about New York Times' story on Justice Anthony Kennedy and the high school press.Suits & Sentences was struck by Justice Kennedy's stated concern for the health of the mainstream media; in particular, one Sacramento-based newspaper company with which Suits & Sentences has more than a passing acquaintance. Saith the justice:"I am very worried about newspapers," he said, citing financial problems at the McClatchy Co. based in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif., which has encountered…
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Blog: Checkpoint Jerusalem
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When Hillary (almost) met the warlord
21 Nov 2009 | 10:21 pmWhen U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Kabul last week for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's inauguration, she sat in a palace hall that included some of the country's most influential warlords.Along with Karzi vice presidents Mohammed Qasem Fahim and Karim Khalili, the honored guests included Abdul Rashid Dostum, who has been accused of committing war crimes and investigated for allegedly carrying out vigilante justice on the streets of Kabul.As she flew to Kabul for Karzai's swearing-in ceremony, Clinton told reporters that the Afghan president's alliance… -
Progress in Israeli-Palestinian (small) talks
19 Nov 2009 | 11:29 pmFinally, reports of progress in talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.Unfortunately, the report comes from the Onion..."According to State Department officials, the violently clashing peoples of Israel and Palestine have agreed to resume small talks this week in an effort to move toward eventually having a discussion about the weather," according to the report.Well, it's a start... -
Hillary Clinton channels 'Godfather' mobster
18 Nov 2009 | 11:45 amSecretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Kabul for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's inauguration.Clinton offered pointed criticism of Karzai on the flight to Afghanistan. Then, when she met Karzai, according to the pool report from Mark Landler of The New York Times, the secretary who famously castigated a student in Kinshasa with the curt cut-down "I'm not going to be channeling my husband," started channeling a Hollywood mobster."The conversation was pleasantries, revolving around Mrs. Clinton’s intense travel schedule and inauguration planning,"… -
Saudi "Super Bad" sitcom's debut
17 Nov 2009 | 6:53 amEarlier this year, I wrote about a Quixotic attempt by some aspiring filmmakers in Riyadh who are trying to produce a pioneering Saudi "Super Bad" sitcom about four guys from Riyadh trying to start a band.This weekend, the filmmakers plan to unveil their TV pilot.Here's a sneak peek at the sitcom trailer: -
Afghanistan: The pink boxers of war
16 Nov 2009 | 9:12 amFor most of this decade, photojournalist David Guttenfelder has been documenting life in Afghanistan.Now you can see the scope of his work here.One of Guttenfelder's most famous recent photos featured U.S. Army Specialist Zachary Boyd joining a firefight last spring while wearing pink boxer shorts.The photo, which appeared on the front page of The New York Times, prompted NPR's Bob Simon to quip: "Real men wear pink boxers."(AP photos: David Guttenfelder)
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Blog: Inside Iraq
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Iraqi uniforms problem?
16 Nov 2009 | 12:04 pmSince the first day of forming the new Iraqi army, the recruited soldiers go to the local market in downtown Baghdad to buy and design their own uniform according to the model every soldiers like. About two years ago, I told a high rank Iraqi officers after one of the press conferences I attended that I could provide a full Iraqi army brigade with the military uniform from the local market. I showed him my concern about this point exactly and explained to him what kind of serious mistake it was because any insurgents group can make… -
Freedom of Expression
15 Nov 2009 | 9:00 amIf you are a journalist in Iraq that means you will face different kinds of dangers, starting with the targeting by armed groups and with suing by the officials. On last Wednesday, one of the Iraqi TV satellite channels showed a program about the suit that was filed by parliament against an Iraqi newspaper. The suit was filed because of an article that was criticizing parliament for the privileges that they approved for themselves. (My colleague Warren Strobel and I wrote a story about this issue on Friday). In this show there was an Iraqi journalist and member of culture… -
Baghdad International Fair
1 Nov 2009 | 6:22 amFor a few days now, going out in the streets of Karkh, which is Baghdad west of the Tigris, has been a very difficult task – especially if you wanted to reach your destination at a pre-set time. The checkpoints have long, long lines; hundreds of cars waiting to pass one by one by the soldier holding the explosive detector – only to reach another checkpoint and another long wait. Sometimes for hours there is no progress. The reason for the extra vigilance turned out to be the opening of the 36th exhibition of Baghdad International Fair, today. I remember going to the Fair… -
A Dream
31 Oct 2009 | 2:33 pmThe last few days a friend of mine asked me: Who you are going to vote for? I didn’t know if am voting because probably I am not. But then I took a decision, I will vote for any politician or any official who resigned and told the people that he failed or the current situation corrupt or any other reason. But that means I am not going to vote to any one because no one resigned. Why politicians need to resign when they are living in earthly heaven? Thinking about it, they have all the right not to resign. Before explaining let us put in mind that the Iraqi people didn’t vote for these… -
Dumb and Dumber
30 Oct 2009 | 12:51 pmThere are more than 200 checkpoints in Baghdad; some of these checkpoints are manned by policemen, some by Iraqi army and some by both. Many of these checkpoints are equipped with explosive detectors that were supposed to enable the Iraqi forces to stop transporting explosives around the city or basically car bombs. Most of these checkpoints are located at entry points to bridges and neighborhoods. Other checkpoints are on the main roads of Baghdad to the limit that the city is literally suffocating because of these checkpoints and the resulted traffic jam. Before starting telling you what…
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Blog: Baghdad Observer
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North of the "border"
21 Nov 2009 | 9:50 amFlew up from Baghdad to the northern Iraqi city of Suleimaniyah this afternoon, crossing the "border" between Arab Iraq and Kurdish Iraq. There is of course, no border there - Iraqi Kurdistan is part of Iraq, de jure if not always de facto. You have to show your passport when you prepare to leave Baghdad International Airport and again when you arrive in Sul-y, as some people call it for short, even though it's an internal domestic flight. In Sul-y, there are no pictures of Arab politicians. The face of Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president and head of the Patriotic Union of… -
It's raining in Baghdad
18 Nov 2009 | 4:12 amI woke last night to the sound of thunder, as Bob Seger used to sing, and whether it was an explosion, I sat and wondered. It wasn't. It was a precursor to rain. Rain! It doesn't precipitate much in Baghdad, to say the least, and the cool drops brought a welcome change. The temperature dropped, the air cleared, the dust settled. People seemed to smile just a little bit more. At least I did. The rain started Monday evening and continued, off and on, through the day Tuesday and into Wednesday. Puddles formed. Raindrops pattered. Steps became slippery. What's the big deal with a… -
The other war: fighting corruption in Iraq
15 Nov 2009 | 11:18 amNovember 17 update: Transparency International today released its 2009 version of the Corruption Perceptions Index. Iraq moved up slightly in the rankings, from 178 to 176 out of 180. The other country where tens of thousands of U.S. combat troops are deployed, Afghanistan, was at 179. The United States ranked 19th. TAJI AIR BASE, Iraq--Iraqi Col. Waleed Khadem Aboub had a typically local solution to the rampant problem of corruption in his country. "Every month, if they execute somebody in every (province) who steals Iraqis' money, I give you my word, nobody's going to do… -
These are a few of my favorite signs
10 Nov 2009 | 11:20 amWell, this is no doubt old hat to my veteran journalistic colleagues here in Baghdad, not to mention diplomats, aid workers, contractors and, most importantly, Iraqis themselves, but first impressions are important. I know 40 or so words of Arabic, so here in Baghdad, my eye is naturally drawn to any English-language sign that one happens to see. And one happens to see a lot, because moving (rather, trying to move) around Iraq's capital means spending endless hours waiting at checkpoints, moving through checkpoints, cursing at checkpoints. One of my Iraqi colleagues likened the… -
Baghdad, plus 7
6 Nov 2009 | 12:17 pmIt was a shock today to see Saddam Hussein's old Ministry of Information, on the West side of the Tigris in central Baghdad. In more recent times, the building has been known as the headquarters of the Baghdad Provinical Council. Until October 25, that is, when the building was shattered in one of three massive suicide bombings that killed 155 Iraqis. It's been seven years since I've been to Baghdad--I don't count two quick in-and-out visits in the protective bubble accompanying secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice in 2004 and 2006 respectively--and the city…
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Blog: Somewhere In Africa
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'Obamarama': Barack Obama Road
12 Nov 2009 | 7:15 pmAfter a hiatus, and in time for Friday, Obamarama is back, thanks to this image I fished out of my cell phone. I shot this in Mombasa back in April and forgot about it. Yes, that's Barack Obama Road, printed in stencil.Previous Obamarama images:Cell phone, KenyaObama Restaurant and Cafe, SomaliaBubble gum in Kisumu, Kenya Kanga bag in Nairobi, KenyaHope Gift Shop in Kisumu, KenyaMini Market in Kigali, Rwanda Video shop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Bar-cafe in Cotonou, Benin Snacks Point in Ntulele, Kenya -
Carryout chicken
10 Nov 2009 | 3:49 amYou know you're in Africa when......after napping on a long road trip back from the bush, you reach your destination, look in the back of the truck and find your stuff has been joined by two huge sacks of charcoal and two live chickens. This was from my trip through northern Mozambique last week with the good folks at World Vision. I dozed off on the long, flat road from Morrumbala to Quelimane, and was assured that the roadside poultry was better and cheaper than city chickens.Here's a closer look at dinner: -
Art deco Asmara
9 Nov 2009 | 4:05 amYou can't go to Asmara and not note the architecture. While most African capitals today are replete with drab, hulking towers from the 1960s and 1970s, the Eritrean capital, dating back to its days as an early-century Italian colonial pied-a-terre, is home to some of the boldest designs on the continent. Benito Mussolini saw Asmara as an extension of his Fascist empire. He used the highland city, as Barney Jopson wrote recently in the Financial Times, as "a laboratory for bold architectural styles – rationalism, futurism, monumentalism – that would never pass muster in Italy. The result… -
Spy games
4 Nov 2009 | 9:47 amI'd been warned before going to Asmara that I might be spied upon. In the extremely small capital of an extremely secretive regime, diplomats told me they assumed they were being watched by their neighbors and probably even by some Eritreans who worked for them.On my first night in the city I was at a bar with some other foreigners, among them teachers and members of the small diplomatic corps. We were the only non-Eritreans there, and not difficult to spot. A half-dozen of us were sitting around a small, low table, drinking the sometimes skunky but not altogether unpleasant Asmara Beer,… -
On the air in Eritrea
2 Nov 2009 | 9:47 amI've just returned from a brief trip to Asmara, Eritrea, where I had the chance to interview Isaias Afwerki, the country's only president in 16 years of independence.The Ministry of Information gave me less than a week to prepare, and Isaias isn't an easy interview. He's famously prickly and doesn't seem to think much of journalists. As the story goes, he expelled a wire-service reporter from the country a few years back after the reporter repeatedly referred to Eritrea as "the tiny Red Sea state."But for me the most difficult thing about the interview was that…
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Blog: Wounded Warriors
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Fort Hood's Spiritual-Fitness-Center
16 Nov 2009 | 7:55 amWhile Fort Hood is where the Army comes home and leaves for deployment, the Army is trying to help soldiers wounded in spirit - and having an uphill battle. [Washington Post] -
Ft. Hood shooting raises dark memories for some veterans
12 Nov 2009 | 12:08 pmVeterans who have undergone PTSD treatment are having a hard time with the shootings at Fort Hood.That the shooter was an Army doctor has troubled many of them. The VA and Army are doing what they can to help. [Fort... -
A final tribute: Goodwill Industries makes flags for veterans' funerals
11 Nov 2009 | 12:31 pmCongress orders the flag, and Goodwill Industries in Florida makes them for the funerals of veterans. 'Each year, the Goodwill workers, most of whom have some sort of disability, make about 80,000 individually boxed flags.' [Miami Herald] -
Caregiver bill for veterans under 'hold' in the Senate
9 Nov 2009 | 10:03 amWhatever compromises for the veterans bills will probably be rolled into the omnibus legislation at the end of the year. But Senator Tom Coburn (OK) has put a hold on a bill that would give support to caregivers taking care... -
Mental health service for veterans under strain
9 Nov 2009 | 9:48 amAfter the shootings at Fort Hood, a closer look at the mental health stresses facing the VA and veterans. At Washington D.C.'s Walter Reed Army Medical Center the strain is showing for both doctors and patients. [Washington Post]
