Showing posts with label administration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label administration. Show all posts

Monday, December 22, 2008

Public split on Obama aides

By Paul Steinhauser - WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether aides to President-elect Barack Obama did something inappropriate in their contacts with embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Twelve percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Monday say Obama aides did something illegal, with another 36 percent feeling Obama aides didn’t act illegally but did do something unethical. Forty-three percent say no Obama aides did anything seriously wrong.
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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Transition! The President-Elect Musical

A note to Broadway fans: Our apologies for taking liberties with the Broadway classic, "Fiddler on the Roof.")
A president in waiting...sounds crazy, no? But here in our little country of America, you might say every one of us is in waiting, looking to the future and change, hoping not to collapse into debt.
Transition
What chief of staff must manage the agenda,
Put a staff together, run interference,
And who has to serve master of the White House
Who has the final word of all?
The Rahmbo, the Rahmbo! Transition!
The Rahmbo, the Rahmbo! Transition!
Who must know the way to make a secure home,
A border safe, a FEMA work?
Who must keep the citizens from any harm
Obama's guard against emergencies.
Janet Napolitano! Transition!
Janet Napolitano! Transition!
'93, she was a first lady, and then was senator.
She missed on the presidency, got top diplomat.
Hillary Clinton! Transition!
Clinton! Clinton! Transition!
And who does press outreach, to mend and tend and spin
Delivering the message, and take it on the chin?
Robert Gibbs! Robert Gibbs! Transition!
Robert Gibbs! Robert Gibbs! Transition!

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Pakistan summons US ambassador over drone attacks.

The attacks ordered by the Bush administration using drone aircrafts are almost a daily event since the last 8 weeks. It is not only counterproductive, but also in clear violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. Pakistan will not tolerate it for much longer.

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Saturday, November 15, 2008

George W Bush could pardon spies involved in torture

George W Bush is considering issuing pardons for US spies embroiled in allegations of torture just before he leaves the White House.
Senior intelligence officers are lobbying the outgoing president to look after the men and women who could face charges for following his orders in the war on terrorism.
Many fear that Barack Obama, who has pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and put an end to the policy of extraordinary rendition, could launch a legal witch hunt against those who oversaw the policies after he is sworn in on Jan 20.
Most vulnerable are US intelligence officers who took part in intensive interrogations against terrorist suspects, using techniques including water boarding, which many believe crossed the line into torture.
A former CIA officer familiar with the backstage lobbying for pardons, said: "These are the people President Bush asked to fight the war on terror for him. He gave them the green light to fight tough. The view of many in the intelligence community is that he should not leave them vulnerable to legal censure when he leaves."
An effort is under way to get pre-emptive pardons. The White House has indicated that the matter is under consideration."
In addition to frontline CIA and military officers, others at risk could include David Addington, Dick Cheney's former counsel, and William Haynes, the former Pentagon general counsel who helped draw up the regulations governing enhanced interrogations.
Many in the Democratic party and human rights groups are calling on President-Elect Obama to tear up Mr Bush's executive orders licensing intensive interrogations on his first day in the Oval Office. They also want an immediate end to rendition, whereby suspects are flown to countries that practise torture

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Friday, November 7, 2008

Obama's Dream Team: Who Will Make Up His Administration?

The balloons had barely settled in Grant Park before President-elect Barack Obama got down to business and began selecting members of his Cabinet and transition team.

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