February 4, 2009
- Pay cap for executives whose firms get government funds
- Whistleblower lambastes SEC
- Running on Empty Series: Will green jobs be outsourced?
- How relevant is today’s Congressional Black Caucus
- The hate behind D.C.-based anti-immigrant groups
- Trade hampered in Kashmir’s line of control
HEADLINES
- SCHIP Goes to President for Signature
- NYC Activists Demand Release of Arrested Bloomberg Protesters
- CA Supreme Court to Hear Prop 8 Case
- Report Shows ICE Targeted Undocumented Immigrants Without Criminal Backgrounds
- EU Debates Tough New Immigrant Employment Rules
- NATO Trucks Burned while Waiting for Khyber Pass Bridge Repairs
FEATURES
Pay cap for executives whose firms get government funds
President Obama issued new rules today on the amount a financial firm executive can earn, if the firm receives funds from the government. The new limit: $500 thousand dollars. Obama called recent reports of multi-million dollar salaries ‘shameful’. The new requirements will affect firms like AIG and Bank of America, which have received billions from the bail out. Those executives can earn additional compensation in the form of stocks after the government and taxpayers get their money back.
Whistleblower lambastes SEC
The whistleblower who reported Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme to authorities lambasted government regulators at a hearing today. Harry Markopolos called the Securities and Exchange Commission incompetent and beholden to big financial firms. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
Running on Empty Series: Will green jobs be outsourced?
President Obama has painted a bright vision for the nation’s energy future: the federal government will invest in clean energy like solar, wind and geothermal power. These industries will create jobs, stimulate the economy, and help combat global warming. But detractors and some renewable energy supporters point out a missing piece in this picture. Yanmei Xie has the story in our continuing energy series, “Running on Empty”.
How relevant is today’s Congressional Black Caucus
When a handful of black representative founded the Congressional Black Caucus 40 years ago, their goal was to promote public welfare through legislation designed to meet the needs of millions of neglected citizens. While there only 13 black Congress members in 1969, today there are 42 – four chair committees, and five chair subcommittees, and one of the biggest shifts the Caucus has ever seen is the election of Barack Obama as president. As many African-Americans have looked to the Congressional Black Caucus for leadership coming out of Washington, some wonder if the Caucus will still be relevant, now that there is a black president. FSRN’s Karen Miller has more.
The hate behind D.C.-based anti-immigrant groups
Three D.C.-based groups are credited with blocking comprehensive immigration reform in 2007: the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies and NumbersUSA – and a new report issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center outlines how these groups were all created and funded by one man who they say is convinced that non-white immigrants threaten the U.S. John Tanton is the publisher of The Social Contract Press, which publishes an anti-immigrant journal, and edited a book that was banned by Canadian border authorities as hate literature. He’s also regularly communicated with white separatists and Klan lawyers for decades – and is the one responsible for creating more than a dozen anti-immigrant groups. So how much influence does one man have on the nation’s immigration policy? Aura Bogado speaks with Mark Potok, Director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Policy Law Center.
Trade hampered in Kashmir’s line of control
Indo-Pakistan bilateral relations have been strained since the Mumbai terror attacks in November – and trade between the Indian and Pakistani controlled portions of Kashmir is no exception. Three months after the cross Line of Control trade route was opened, the absences of basic modalities like currency exchange are hampering the trade progress. From Srinagar, FSRN’s Shahnawaz Khan reports.
