Posts Tagged mccain
5/22 News
Chinese earthquake victims reaches 50,000
The death toll of an earthquake that hit Southwestern China May 12th has leaped to over 50,000, increasing 10,000 from the previous estimate. The injured count from this 7.9 magnitude earthquake nears 300,000 with another near 30,000 missing.
Today ended a three-day mourning period that postponed the Olympic torch relay through a coastal province. The final stretch through the Sichuan province will start August 3rd, less than a week before the opening ceremony.
House passes faulty farm bill
House Democrats tasted a bittersweet victory yesterday when a House clerk sent an incomplete copy of the $300 billion farm bill to President Bush. Bush used his 10th veto this presidency on the bill but the House easily overrode the veto. However; when before the bill was sent back to the Senate to override, a 34-page omission was discovered.
2/3 of the bill covers food stamps and other nutrition programs. It also provides farm subsidies to dairy farmers and biofuel farmers, omitting the ethanol industry which has been blamed for helping to raise food prices.
McCain attracts more criticism for lobbyist ties
Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain is attracting more criticism for his ties with lobbyists. His top political advisor Charles Black was a lobbyist and advisor for several questionable regimes, including Angolan guerrilla Jonas Savimbi in the 1980’s. He was also registered as a foreign agent for other African leaders from Zaire, the Philippines, Nigeria and Somalia.
Ironically, McCain recently banned his staff from lobbying for foreign countries. “One of the things Obama will do is portray him as the creature of Washington, and what could be more Washington-esque than having a dictator as a client?” said Paul Light, a public service professor at New York University.
FBI isn’t prepared, says agent
An FBI agent and whistleblower for the organization testified in Congress yesterday, claiming the FBI lacks the knowledge about the Middle East to deal with threats from that region.
“While we appreciate any employee’s views on the state and direction of the FBI, those assessments may be very limited in scope,” said John Miller, head of FBI public affairs.
Add comment May 22, 2008