Thursday, January 1, 2009

William Rivers Pitt on a very bad year; Obama lets all Bush's Pen



William Rivers Pitt on a very bad year; Obama lets all Bush's Pentagon appointees go; Israel rejects 48-hour cease-fire plan; Madoff faces deadline for disclosing where the money went; filling of Obama's Senate seat headed to court; California sues federal government over changes to the Endangered Species Act; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org


t r u t h o u t | 12.31


William Rivers Pitt | A Very Bad Year
http://www.truthout.org/123108J
William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: "The year 2008 began on a Tuesday. Matters went downhill swiftly from there."


Obama Dismisses Bush Pentagon Appointees
http://www.truthout.org/123108K
Sam Youngman, The Hill: "Despite keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the Pentagon, President-elect Obama's transition team informed 90 Bush appointees their services will not be needed after Inauguration Day. Scott Gration, a senior official on Obama's transition team, called and emailed several of President Bush's Pentagon appointees about 10 days ago to inform them they were being dismissed."


Israel Rejects Proposed Cease-Fire
http://www.truthout.org/123108L
Sudarsan Raghavan and Griff Witte, The Washington Post: "Israeli leaders rejected on Wednesday a cease-fire plan to immediately pause attacks on the Gaza Strip for 48 hours, declaring that as proposed there were no guarantees Hamas fighters would honor the agreement. Discussions were continuing in hopes of developing a more durable cease-fire that would include firmer guarantees that Hamas rocket fire into Israel would stop." 


Madoff: So Where's the Money, Bernie?
http://www.truthout.org/123108M
Stephen Foley, The Independent UK: "Three weeks ago he was one of Wall Street's grandees and one of its most sought-after investment professionals. Today, he is under house arrest at his $7m ... Manhattan apartment, accused of being the biggest swindler that the world of finance has ever seen. Bernard Madoff faces a court deadline this morning for declaring all that remains of his clients' money, and for setting out the personal fortune he amassed over the decades, including homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and New York's Long Island. What is it going to add up to?"


Senate Seat Dispute May Head to Court
http://www.truthout.org/123108N
David Kesmodel, Douglas Belkin and Cam Simpson, The Wall Street Journal: "The burgeoning dispute over President-elect Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat could spill into the federal courts. Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, facing federal corruption charges, shocked the political world Tuesday by naming his choice to fill the seat, former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris."


California Sues Federal Government Over Changes in Endangered Species Act
http://www.truthout.org/123108O
Julie Cart, The Los Angeles Times: "California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown filed suit against the federal government Tuesday, charging that a recent rule change by the Bush administration illegally gutted provisions of the Endangered Species Act, essentially quashing the role of science in decisions made by federal agencies. Ken Alex, senior assistant attorney general, said the state took the action because it has both the legal right and the moral responsibility to protect California's environment and resources."


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