In the News: Apr-23

Greg Mitchell: U.S. Soldier Who Killed Herself--After Refusing to Take Part in Torture - April 23, 2009 - With each new revelation on U.S. torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gitmo (and who, knows, probably elsewhere), I am reminded of the chilling story of Alyssa Peterson, who I have written about numerous times in the past three years but now with especially sad relevance. Appalled when ordered to take part in interrogations that, no doubt, involved what we would call torture, she refused, then killed herself a few days later, in September 2003.

Court rules PM must press U.S. for Khadr's return - 23 Apr 2009 at 1:37pm - A Federal Court judge ruled Thursday that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is obliged to press the United States for the return of Omar Khadr to Canada.

Cuomo questions TARP, pressure on BofA's Lewis - 23 Apr 2009 at 1:15pm - NEW YORK (Reuters) - An investigation of Bank of America Corp revealed facts that raise questions about the transparency of the U.S. government program to help banks in the financial crisis, New York's top legal officer said in a letter made public on Thursday.

U.S. mass layoffs rise to highest on record - 23 Apr 2009 at 11:13am - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Large-scale U.S. layoffs rose again in March, according to Labor Department data on Thursday, as the economy struggles with what many expect will be the country's worst post-World War II recession.

Lewis testified that U.S. urged silence on Merrill deal: report - 23 Apr 2009 at 8:32am - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp CEO Kenneth Lewis testified under oath that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressured him to keep quiet about losses at Merrill Lynch & Co, which the bank was buying, the Wall Street Journal reported.

US lacks civilians for Afghan 'civilian surge' - 23 Apr 2009 at 8:25am - WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is having trouble finding the hundreds of civilians it wants to bolster the troop buildup in Afghanistan. So military reservists might be asked to do the civilian jobs.

Thought for the day:
It isn't that they can't see the solution. It is that they can't see the problem. -G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936), Scandal of Father Brown (1935)