Right-wing ‘lies’ force Obama adviser out
September 14, 2009
The White House environmental adviser Van Jones, a towering figure in the environmental movement, has resigned after weeks of controversy stemming from his past activism.
”On the eve of historic fights for health-care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me,” Mr Jones, the special adviser for green jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a statement announcing his resignation just after midnight on Saturday. ”They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.”
He continued: ”I have been inundated with calls – from across the political spectrum – urging me to ‘stay and fight’. But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.”
Mr Jones issued two public apologies in recent days, one for signing a petition that questioned whether Bush administration officials ”may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war” and the other for using a crude term to describe Republicans in a speech he gave before joining the Administration.
A Republican Congressman, Mike Pence, called on Mr Jones to resign on Friday, saying in a statement: ”His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this administration or the public debate.” Senator Christopher Bond wrote in an open letter: ”Can the American people trust a senior White House official that is so cavalier in his association with such radical and repugnant sentiments?”
The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said on Friday that Mr Jones ”continues to work for the Administration” – but he did not state that the adviser enjoyed the full support of President Barack Obama.
Mr Jones had worked for the White House Council on Environmental Quality since March. He was a civil-rights activist before turning his focus to environmental and energy issues.
Pentagon chief: Time in Afghanistan short
July 19, 2009
After eight years, US-led forces must show progress in Afghanistan by next year to avoid perceptions that the conflict has become unwinnable, the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, has said in a sharp critique of the war effort.
G8 : Give Iran talks a chance
July 8, 2009
Post-election violence in Iran is “deeply shocking”, but G8 leaders nevertheless want to pursue talks to end the nuclear standoff with Tehran, French President Nicolas Sarkozy says, warning Iran that the international community was determined to make progress. Read more
British spy chief outed on wife’s Facebook page
July 5, 2009
The wife of the next head of Britain’s spy agency has posted pictures of her husband, family and friends on the social networking site Facebook, details which could compromise security, a newspaper said on Sunday.
Sir John Sawers is due to take over as head of the Secret Intelligence Service in November. The SIS, popularly known as MI6, is Britain’s global intelligence-gathering organisation.
Saddam told FBI : I was no al-Qaeda ally
July 2, 2009
Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews just released. The former Iraqi president also denounced Osama bin Laden as “a zealot” and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda.
Saddam, in fact, said he felt so vulnerable to the “fanatic” leaders in Tehran that he would have been prepared to seek a “security agreement with the United States to protect it [Iraq] from threats in the region”.
Madoff lawyer seeks 12 year sentence : $US50 billion fraud
June 23, 2009
A lawyer for disgraced financier Bernard Madoff has sought a sentence of 12 years or less for his aging client, who he says “has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years”.
Air France replaces speed sensors on entire fleet
June 16, 2009
Air France has replaced the air speed sensors on its entire fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 long-haul aircraft, a pilots’ union official says. The company had been under pressure from pilots who feared the devices could be linked to the crash of Flight 447.
‘Got any ideas?’ : Captain to co-pilot
June 10, 2009
The captain of the US Airways Flight 1549 jet that landed in the Hudson River in January asked his co-pilot less than 20 seconds before splashing into the river,
“Got any ideas?”
The first officer, Jeffrey Skiles, replied to the captain, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger:
“Actually not,”
Air France jet with 215 on board drops off radar
June 1, 2009
An Air France passenger jet with 215 people on board has gone missing after dropping off the radar over the Atlantic off the Brazilian coast Monday, a Paris airport official said.
Obama: North Korea’s nuclear test warrants international action
May 25, 2009
US President Barack Obama says North Korea’s reported nuclear and missile tests today are “a threat to international peace” and warrant “action by the international community”.
“These actions, while not a surprise given its statements and actions to date, are a matter of grave concern to all nations,” Obama said in a written statement.
