US government-to-government arms sales are growing fast and will likely exceed $40 billion for 2009. It’s all part of their strategy for international diplomacy, you see…
Obama administration
Crikey Says: Boom times for guns, irony
Backing away from Gitmo pledge
The White House seem to be having second thoughts about their hasty closure of Guantánamo Bay prison, Cuba, with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs now calling it a “hasty decision”.
Michelle-O for Arts Czar
Michelle Obama would make the perfect advisor to her husband on arts policy, says Judith Dobrzynski.
US Govt washes hands of ailing newspaper industry
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said last week that while it’s sad for cities to lose their daily papers, “I don’t know what, in all honesty, government can do about it.”
Obama’s auto bailout: spin, lies and layoffs
An auto industry “bailout” that shutters productive factories and dealerships, and lays off tens of thousands of workers, is not change that we can believe in, says John Nichols.
Will Obama act to save captive US journalists?
Three American journalists, one in Iran and two in North Korea, are currently imprisoned under dubious charges. What — if anything — will Obama do to save them?
Obama at 100: how the pundits see it
US President Barack Obama has officially hit 100 days in office. We take a look at how the pundits are grading his performance thus far.
Justice looms for the torture team
The chance of an American president allowing the domestic prosecution of his predecessors for war crimes is essentially zero. American politics just doesn’t work that way.
ProPublica frees ethics information for the Internet age
ProPublica has taken it upon itself to obtain and scrutinise the Obama administration members’ financial and ethical disclosure forms.
Bank stress tests: too little too late
Giving banks a stress test now is like testing for cardiovascular problems while a patient’s having a heart attack. WSJ economics editor David Wessel explains.
The United States of economic oblivion
General Motors lost billions, the jobless and durable goods orders fell sharply in January and the bank watch-list expanded — just another day at recession ground zero, writes Glenn Dyer.
Bank DeathWatch: lenders on the scrapheap
Four more small US banks were shut over the weekend, taking to 13 the number closed in the first seven weeks of the year, writes Glenn Dyer.
National Review Online / Friday, 1 May 2009
Conservative commentators evaluate Obama’s performance so far.