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Maine: Pelosi

May 18, 2009 - 07:04 am
NEWS FEED: Turn Maine Blue

Open Thread

By Gerald Weinand

Good morning.

This might be optimistic, but the Hill has this analysis that the Pelosi CIA flap may lead to a truth commission on torture:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's fight with the CIA has put her in one of the toughest spots she's been in since she became speaker.

But it may also have advanced her goal of creating a "truth commission" to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation techniques and whether they amounted to illegal torture.

If nothing else, Pelosi's hard-to-prove assertion that the CIA lied to her in a briefing has renewed interest among Republicans and Democrats in what the Bush administration was doing with detainees six years ago and what it told Congress and other officials.

Read More at Turn Maine Blue >
There have been 1104 comments posted in response to this story.

May 15, 2009 - 06:29 am
NEWS FEED: Turn Maine Blue

Open Thread

By Gerald Weinand

Good morning.

Remember how often you would smack your forehead and ask, "When are the Democrats going to find their spines?" Well, it wouldn't have mattered if they did. From the Hill, Pelosi now says she knew about waterboarding:

During a tense press conference, Pelosi sought to deflect criticism to the CIA, which she said lied to her about the practice.

Pelosi said she learned of the waterboarding after her national security aide, Mike Sheehy, sat in on a February 2003 briefing with her successor on the committee, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.). Sheehy has since left Pelosi's office.

Pelosi defended herself for not speaking out at the time about information disclosed in a classified briefing.

Read More at Turn Maine Blue >
There have been 197 comments posted in response to this story.

May 15, 2009 - 12:02 am
NEWS FEED: Slublog

Transparency Update

The promise:

My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.
The reality:
The Obama administration has turned down former Vice President Dick Cheney’s request for the declassification of two CIA reports on the effectiveness of the Agency’s detainee program, THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned. A letter dated May 7, 2009, from the CIA’s Information and Privacy Coordinator, Delores M. Nelson, rejected Cheney’s request because the documents he has requested are involved in a Freedom of Information Act court battle.

Read More at Slublog >
There have been 80 comments posted in response to this story.

March 7, 2009 - 06:51 am
NEWS FEED: Turn Maine Blue

Open Thread

By Gerald Weinand

Good morning. I'm on the road much of the day.

The bank bailout continues apace in the UK too, but with a difference; from the Guardian:

The government today confirmed it will take majority control of Lloyds Banking Group, with the taxpayer owning 65% of the voting shares in return for insuring ?260bn of the group's toxic assets.

After days of detailed negotiations the terms of the takeover were announced by the Treasury, with Lloyds making a commitment to lend at least ?28bn over the next few years.

The government is to insure the bank's riskiest loans and in return the taxpayer will up its ownership of the bank from 43% to 65% - rising to 77% when non-voting shares are included.

Read More at Turn Maine Blue >
There have been 45 comments posted in response to this story.