Archive - Jan 21, 2009

• President Obama's first full day in office
• At his nomination hearing, Geithner defends financial bailout
• Hundreds gather urging comprehensive immigration reform
• Homeless weigh in on ideas for "Change"
• Challenging San Francisco's camera surveillance
• East African group accused of brutal massacre

• Israel Out of Gaza, Investigates Use of White Phosphorous
• UK Unemployment Rate Hits 12 Year High
• Mexican Tycoon Bails out NY Times
• Supreme Court Declines to Review Online Porn Law
• War Resister Group Calls on Obama to Grant Amnesty

On his first full day as President, Barack Obama is getting straight to work. In one of his first actions in office, President Obama issued an order to halt all military commissions for detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The 120 day stay will be used to assess the commissions set up by the Bush administration. Just hours after being sworn in, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel issued a memorandum halting many of Bush's "midnight regulations" until Obama's staff can conduct a legal and policy review.

President Obama also signed executive orders today that change the rules that oversee lobbyist's role in the new administration: presidential appointees will no longer be able to accept gifts from lobbyists, and will be barred from returning to lobby the administration once they leave their post. The sweeping ethics reforms, which some groups say are groundbreaking, also limits the role of lobbyists who come to work for the administration.

Addressing the Mideast crisis, Obama called the leaders of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Fatah party; he did not call Hamas leaders. As many await an announcement about troop withdrawal from Iraq, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also held a meeting on Iraq with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military and foreign policy advisors.

Turning to the economy, Obama was briefed by economic advisors, including National Economic Director Lawrence Summers, and by the White House coordinator of energy and climate policy Carol Browner, as evidence of a critically injured economy continues to mount as the financial markets bore a disastrous day yesterday.

At his nomination hearing, Geithner defends financial bailout

Moving down Pennsylvania Avenue, from the White House to the Capital, Congress also addressed the economy. The Senate held a confirmation hearing for Obama's Secretary of the Treasury nominee, Timothy Geithner. Geithner's confirmation turned mildly controversial, due to his failure in paying a portion of his taxes. But at his confirmation hearing, Senators appeared to overlook his tax delinquency for the sake of an ailing economy in need of a cabinet official tasked with oversight and direction. Washington Editor Leigh Ann Caldwell has the story.

Past inaugurations in D.C. have drawn massive protests alongside the official pageantry. But few activists demonstrated yesterday – and most people that made their way to D.C. to witness the inauguration support the new administration to some degree. Today was a bit different.  Hundreds of grassroots activists and religious leaders marched through D.C. and made their way to the front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building, demanding a moratorium on raids and action on comprehensive immigration reform. Aura Bogado spoke with a day laborer and an undocumented student about why they attended the demonstration.

Homeless weigh in on ideas for "Change"

Among those weighing in on President Obama's promises for change are the homeless. Some of those who have personally spent time on the streets say they have some innovative suggestions on working towards eliminating homelessness. FSRN's Andalusia Knoll has more from Washington.

San Francisco's surveillance camera program is coming under scrutiny. It was introduced in high-crime areas four years ago as a deterrent to crime, but a new study finds the cameras are not effective in reducing violent crime. As Africa Jones reports, civil rights advocates warn the surveillance could be misused.

And now we go to Uganda and the DR Congo, where violence against civilians is intensifying after two years of relative calm. Uganda's Lords Resistance Army (LRA) is accused of attacking civilians in neighboring DR Congo. At least 620 people were brutally massacred with axes, bats and machetes in less than three weeks between December and January – according to Human Rights Watch and Justice Plus, a Congolese organization which took a two-week mission to the region.  Survivors who managed to stay alive say the LRA is wiping out entire villages, and abducting children. The bloodshed began after Uganda's military attacked suspected LRA camps. FSRN's Joshua Kyalimpa has more.