Wednesday, April 28, 2010

News

GOP Blocks Advance of Financial Reform Bill
Goldman Faces New Allegations Ahead of Senate Testimony
Abbas Signs Order Barring Palestinians from Working in Israeli Settlements
Calderón Denounces Arizona Immigration Law
Oil Spill Grows in Gulf of Mexico
Terror Trial Begins for Jailed US Citizen Held in Lengthy Solitary Confinemen

 

GOP Blocks Advance of Financial Reform Bill

Republicans have blocked the financial reform bill from reaching the Senate floor. On Monday, Democrats fell three votes short of the sixty needed to bring the measure up for debate. Another vote is expected later in the week as talks continue on reaching a bipartisan deal. Before the vote, the bill’s lead sponsor, Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, touted the proposed consumer protection agency.

Sen. Christopher Dodd: “Where do you go to get a recall on a faulty mortgage or a credit card deal that’s corrupt or fraudulent or deceptive or abusive? Why shouldn’t we deal with financial products that can bring you to financial ruin, if we can’t address that, and yet you can do it with a toaster, a TV or an automobile? Our bill sets up a consumer financial product safety commission, bureau, division, that we’ve established in this bill, so that consumers themselves can have someplace to go to get redress. Rules can be written to protect them against abusive practices.”

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll, meanwhile, shows two-thirds of Americans support a financial overhaul that would restrict the activities of banks and other major financial firms.

Goldman Faces New Allegations Ahead of Senate Testimony

Executives from the bailed-out Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs are appearing before a Senate hearing today amidst increasing scrutiny on their practices. On Monday, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said Goldman’s alleged unlawful activities extended beyond the single mortgage-related securities case that led to civil fraud charges earlier this month. Subcommittee chair Senator Carl Levin of Michigan held up copies of emails he says prove Goldman devised not just one but a number of complex deals that resulted in $3.7 billion in earnings for the company. Investigators say Goldman’s tactics centered around making negative bets, or shorts, that profited from the housing market’s collapse.

Abbas Signs Order Barring Palestinians from Working in Israeli Settlements

In Israel and the Occupied Territories, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed an order barring Palestinians from working in Israeli settlements and selling settlement goods. It’s unclear if the order will apply to the estimated 30,000 Palestinians who currently work in Israeli settlements or just those who would otherwise seek employment in the future.

Calderón Denounces Arizona Immigration Law

In Mexico, President Felipe Calderón has joined the voices of opposition to a new law in Arizona that forces police officers to determine the immigration status of someone they suspect of being an undocumented immigrant. Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed the bill on Friday following its approval in the state legislature earlier in the week. Opponents call it the harshest anti-immigrant measure in the country and a license for racial profiling. On Monday, Calderón said the measure will breed “racial discrimination.”
Mexican President Felipe Calderón: “A legislation, which opens the door to unacceptable racial discrimination, is set in motion. Mexico’s government will use everything in its power to defend the rights of Mexicans who are affected by this legislation, and we’ll spare no effort to ensure the dignity of every fellow compatriot.”
The law’s passage has spurred calls for a boycott of Arizona’s economy.

Oil Spill Grows in Gulf of Mexico

The oil spill from last week’s oil rig explosion off the Louisiana cost has grown to cover 1,900 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico. The US Coast Guard and crews hired by the rig’s operator, BP, are struggling to contain the spill. The underwater well where the rig exploded continues to leak around 42,000 gallons of oil a day. Ed Levine of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said at least some of the oil will reach the Gulf Coast shoreline.
Ed Levine: “There will be shoreline impacts from this eventually. There’s no way that we will pick up all the oil that’s being released.”
Eleven workers remain missing since the explosion and are presumed dead. The wife of one of the missing workers, Natalie Roshto, has filed a lawsuit accusing BP of negligence in operating the rig. The suit also names the oil services giant Halliburton, which performed work on the well before the explosion.

Terror Trial Begins for Jailed US Citizen Held in Lengthy Solitary Confinement

A young US citizen who has been held in twenty-three-hour solitary confinement for nearly three years is set to go on trial Wednesday here in New York. Syed Fahad Hashmi is charged with providing material support to al-Qaeda in a case that rests on the testimony and actions of an old acquaintance who turned government informant after his own arrest. Hashmi is being prosecuted for a two-week period when the informant stayed at his home carrying rain gear that was allegedly later delivered to al-Qaeda members in Pakistan. Hashmi’s period in solitary confinement is believed to be one of the longest ever for a prisoner before trial. On Monday, Hashmi’s supporters held a rally to draw attention to his case. Hashmi’s brother, Faisal Hashmi, said he has no hope of a fair trial.
Faisal Hashmi: “He’s already lost the fair trial portion. The concept of a fair trial is lost. What we’re trying to do is work to highlight what’s going on in his case, and we hope that the people in the jury can see through this facade of justice.”
Hashmi’s supporters say they plan to continue weekly vigils throughout the trial



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