More at ABC: “The high-flying execs at Citigroup caved under pressure from President Obama and decided today to abandon plans for a luxurious new $50 million corporate jet from France.
The bank used TARP funds to purchase a new corporate jet for executives.
The decision came 24 hours after the banking giant, which was rescued by a $45 billion taxpayer lifeline, defended buying the state-of-the-art Dassault Falcon 7X -- one of nine to be flying in U.S. skies -- as a smart business deal.
The jet, the epitome of corporate prestige and privilege, can carry 12 passengers in elegant comfort.
ABC News has learned that on Monday officials of the Obama administration called Citigroup about the company's new $50 million corporate jet and told execs to "fix it."”
-- Thank God for Obama! That $50 million could be used for a plan to extend emergency credit to small businesses in selected cities. Wow, the desire to waste money among those who have it. Fortunately, we have a President who's putting a stop to this.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Oakland State of The City Dellums Speech Highlights
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums gave a great 2009 State of The City Address but it was twice interrupted by Oaklanders concerned about the matter of police brutality in the wake of the murder of Oscar Grant by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle two weeks ago. The Mayor responded to them well. Later, I talked with new At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and Brother Keith Muhammed on their views of Dellums' speech.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Pfizer, Caterpillar and Home Depot Layoff 40,000 Today
More at Huff Post: “WASHINGTON — The recession is killing jobs at an alarming pace, with tens of thousands of new layoffs announced Monday by some of the biggest names in American business _ Pfizer, Caterpillar and Home Depot.
More pink slips, pay freezes and other hits are expected to slam workers in the months ahead as companies desperately look for ways to survive.
"We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg _ the big firms," said Rebecca Braeu, economist at John Hancock Financial Services. "There's certainly other firms beneath them that will lay off workers as quickly or even quicker."
Looking ahead, economists predicted a net loss of at least 2 million jobs _ possibly more _ this year even if President Barack Obama's $825 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts is enacted. Last year, the economy lost a net 2.6 million jobs, the most since 1945, though the labor force has grown significantly since then.
The unemployment rate, now at a 16-year high of 7.2 percent, could hit 10 percent or higher later this year or early next year, under some analysts' projections.”
-- And how many people do we need to have jobless before we call this a Depression?
More pink slips, pay freezes and other hits are expected to slam workers in the months ahead as companies desperately look for ways to survive.
"We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg _ the big firms," said Rebecca Braeu, economist at John Hancock Financial Services. "There's certainly other firms beneath them that will lay off workers as quickly or even quicker."
Looking ahead, economists predicted a net loss of at least 2 million jobs _ possibly more _ this year even if President Barack Obama's $825 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts is enacted. Last year, the economy lost a net 2.6 million jobs, the most since 1945, though the labor force has grown significantly since then.
The unemployment rate, now at a 16-year high of 7.2 percent, could hit 10 percent or higher later this year or early next year, under some analysts' projections.”
-- And how many people do we need to have jobless before we call this a Depression?
"Crude" Movie Lies - The Movie "Crude" Forgets About Ecuador
There's a new movie out called "Crude" which is a kind of documentary about the Ecuadorian oil spill problem. The trouble is, it forgets about how Petroecuador shirked its responsibility in maintaining the oil production facilities left behind after the transfer from Chevron / Texaco in 1998. I explained that in this video:
And now, there's a new website outlining the lies of "Crude" and called "Crude Movie Lies".
And now, there's a new website outlining the lies of "Crude" and called "Crude Movie Lies".
Raw Video: Blagojevich Prepares for PR Blitz - Associated Press
AssociatedPress - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is in New York City this morning for a public relations blitz. He will appear on several morning talk shows. His impeachment trial also starts today in the Illinois capital. (Jan. 26)
The Underground Chinese Hip-hop Movement
TheNewYorkTimes - Underground Chinese Hip-hop, which is growing in popularity amongst students and working class Chinese, is a profitless, and often subversive, activity for its practitioners.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Obama Inauguration - L'Enfant Plaza Hotel Is A Warm Place
It was so cold on Inauguration Day that I sought refuge and found it at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, where Lynn Lashbrook, the Director of Sales and the staff was all too kind and helped thousands of freezing lobby visitors.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
President Obama reverses Bush abortion-funds policy
More at Yahoo! News: “WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information — an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century. Obama's executive order, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes.”
Obama Inauguration - Greg Shares His Views
I met Greg as I was walking up to get a glimpse of The U.S. Capital on Inauguration Eve. We talked about what the then-upcoming event meant to us; here's my video interview of Greg.
Tony West Appointed Assistant Attorney General By President Obama
Tony West, who you've frequently seen if you're a visitor to the Oakland Focus Blog , and my YouTube channel Zennie62 , was appointed Assistant Attorney General by President Barack Obama.
Congratulations, Tony!
I just interviewed Tony, who became a friend during the campaign, on November 12th here and in a talk where one can learn more about the man and his vast background (for example, he's worked in some way for six presidents and now seven) who was just appointed on Friday of this week:
But that was not the first time I talked with Tony. Here's the other videos:
This one last year at the California State Democratic Convention:
And this one when then-Senator Obama visited San Francisco for a large fundraising event:
Congratulations, Tony!
I just interviewed Tony, who became a friend during the campaign, on November 12th here and in a talk where one can learn more about the man and his vast background (for example, he's worked in some way for six presidents and now seven) who was just appointed on Friday of this week:
But that was not the first time I talked with Tony. Here's the other videos:
This one last year at the California State Democratic Convention:
And this one when then-Senator Obama visited San Francisco for a large fundraising event:
01/24/09: President Obama's Weekly Address
From YouTube channel whitehouse: In his first weekly address since being sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, President Barack Obama discussed how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will jump-start the economy.
(This video is public domain per White House copyright policy.)
-- This is just the begining, because I believe what's needed is a more direct stimulus of $3,500 for Americans at or under $100,000 in income.
Pakistan urges U.S. President Obama to halt missile attacks
More at Yahoo! News: “ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan urged President Barack Obama to halt U.S. missile strikes on al-Qaida strongholds near the Afghan border, saying Saturday that civilians were killed the previous day in the first attacks since Obama's inauguration.
Pakistani security officials said eight suspected foreign militants, including an Egyptian al-Qaida operative, were among 22 people killed in Friday's twin strikes in the Waziristan region.
But the Foreign Ministry said that the attacks by unmanned aircraft also killed an unspecified number of civilians and that it had informed U.S. officials of its "great concern."
"With the advent of the new U.S. administration, it is Pakistan's sincere hope that the United States will review its policy and adopt a more holistic and integrated approach toward dealing with the issue of terrorism and extremism," a ministry statement said.”
Pakistani security officials said eight suspected foreign militants, including an Egyptian al-Qaida operative, were among 22 people killed in Friday's twin strikes in the Waziristan region.
But the Foreign Ministry said that the attacks by unmanned aircraft also killed an unspecified number of civilians and that it had informed U.S. officials of its "great concern."
"With the advent of the new U.S. administration, it is Pakistan's sincere hope that the United States will review its policy and adopt a more holistic and integrated approach toward dealing with the issue of terrorism and extremism," a ministry statement said.”
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