Archive - Apr 16, 2010

• SEC files suit, saying Goldman Sachs profited from risky housing market
• Obama orders end to restrictions on hospital visits for same-sex couples
• Immigration raids hit neighborhoods across Arizona
• People march in Tampa to draw attention to farmworkers’ rights
• UN report calls Bhutto assassination a “failure” of government protection
• Bolivians mark landmark water war protests in Cochabamba

• Appeals Court nominee Goodwin Liu gets Republican pushback
• Bush CIA head approved of torture tape destruction
• Florida Governor vetoes controversial educational reform
• Ship full of suspected toxic waste ceased in Nigeria
• Activists push for court approval of Media Reform law

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed fraud charges against Goldman Sachs today, accusing the investment and securities company of knowingly profiting off the toxic housing market. The suit says Goldman Sachs and Vice President Fabrice Tourre made misleading statements and omissions in connection with a complex financial scheme in which the defendants presented risky subprime loans to their customers. According to the lawsuit, while customers lost over $1 billion, hedge fund giant Paulson & Company, which was involved in the scheme, made more than $1 billion in profits. Paulson & Company has not been charged. In a statement, Goldman Sachs said the charges are "completely unfounded in law and fact."

Same-sex couples will now face fewer restrictions at hospitals. President Obama has directed the Department of Health and Human Services to end discrimination against gays and lesbians when it comes to hospital visitation rights and end-of-life decisions. Tanya Snyder has more.
And also from DC., people are gathering to push for legislation that would give Washington a vote in Congress or full autonomy over local issues.  President Obama issued a statement in support of the effort today, urging congress to "finally pass legislation that provides DC residents with voting representation and to take steps to improve the Home Rule Charter." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he intends to bring the DC Voting Rights Act to the House Floor for a vote next week.

In Arizona, more than 800 agents from federal, state and local agencies fanned across the state Thursday in an operation that targeted human smuggling networks. The raids come just days after the Arizona legislature passed a controversial immigration criminalization bill. Human rights and immigrants’ advocates are voicing their concerns From Tucson, Amanda Shauger reports.

Hundreds of people filled the streets of Tampa, Florida today, on the first day of a 3-day March for farmworkers rights.  The march will end at the headquarters of the Publix supermarket chain, the latest target of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The Florida based farmworkers have won higher wages from large chains like Taco Bell, McDonalds, and Burger King.  As FSRN’s Andrew Stelzer reports, by focusing on supermarkets, the workers are hoping to tap into Americans' growing consciousness about where their food comes from.

A long awaited UN report on the 2007 assassination of Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto finds that Pakistan's government - then headed by Pervez Musharraf - failed to protect Bhutto even after multiple threats and that an investigation into the attack was a "deliberate" failure. Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, chair of the UN commission, presented the findings on Thursday.
"A range of government officials failed profoundly in their efforts. First, to protect Ms. Bhutto and second to investigate with vigor all those responsible for her murder. Not only in the execution of the attack but also in its conception, planning and financing."
The attack also killed 24 other people and injured 91.
To learn more about the findings, we're joined by Sharad Joshi. He's a Research Associate and faculty member at the Monteray Institute of International Studies in California. His research focuses on security issues and terrorism in South Asia.