A REAL-Prez; On-The-Job....FINALLY!!

Obama Commits to Declassification; Begins Shift in Classification Programs

"On December 28, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13526 Concerning Classified National Security Information (the "Executive Order") and a Presidential Memorandum setting goals for declassification of historical records, a reduction in the number of original classification authorities, and promoting the use of new technologies in declassification. In the Memorandum, President Obama states:

I expect that the order will produce measurable progress towards greater openness and transparency in the Government's classification and declassification programs while protecting the Government's legitimate interests, and I will closely monitor the results.

The Memorandum goes on to commit that "a backlog of more than 400 million pages of accessioned Federal records previously subject to automatic declassification shall be addressed in a manner that will permit public access to all declassified records from this backlog no later than December 31, 2013."

"President Obama is heading in the right direction to reduce excessive secrecy," said Meredith Fuchs, the Archive's General Counsel. "The focus on achieving public access to declassified records is directly responsive to the needs of the historical community."

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"The declining number of troops signals the U.S. is sticking by it's plan to steadily reduce its number of combat troops in Iraq to 50,000 by the end of August.

The U.S. military will pull out of the country completely by the end of 2011."
Gee....whatta tragedy, it was, putting Iraq's government on a schedule.

:rolleyes:

"Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as President.
 
"Pakistani authorities, aided by U.S. intelligence, said Thursday they have apprehended more militant chiefs following the capture of the Afghan Taliban's No. 2 figure — arrests that together represent the biggest blow to the militant organization since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The roundups, which could still be under way, occurred as 15,000 U.S., NATO and Afghan forces are pressing the Taliban in their southern Afghan stronghold of Marjah, which had been the biggest town in the area under militant control.

The latest arrests took place late Wednesday and early Thursday when nine militants linked to al-Qaida were nabbed near Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi, where the Taliban's deputy chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was picked up several days ago.

Others picked up in the recent sweeps included the Taliban's 'shadow governors' in two provinces in northern Afghanistan, according to the official governor of the Afghan province of Kunduz, Mohammad Omar, and two Pakistani intelligence officers. The Pakistani intelligence officials spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because they did not have the authority to speak to the media.

Communications intercepted by U.S. authorities played a key role in tracking and arresting the suspects, who were in Karachi buying bomb-making equipment, the officials said."

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"HEY!! RUMMY!!! How's he DOIN'?????"
 
"The capture of senior Afghan Taliban leaders in Pakistan represents the culmination of months of pressure by the Obama administration on Pakistan's powerful security forces to side with the United States as its troops wage war in Afghanistan, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials.

A new level of cooperation includes Pakistani permission late last month for U.S. intelligence officials to station personnel and technology in this pulsating megacity, officials said. Intercepted real-time communications handed over to Pakistani intelligence officials have led to the arrests in recent days of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban's No. 2 commander, and two of the group's "shadow" governors for northern Afghanistan."

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"Co-OP-eratin'??? What the Hell's THAT??!!!"​

"A U.S. drone strike Thursday in Pakistan's remote border region killed the adult son of the founder of one of the most vicious and powerful militant organizations directing attacks at international forces in Afghanistan, a Pakistani intelligence official said.

The official said two missiles that pounded a car in a North Waziristan tribal district resulted in the death of Mohammad Haqqani, one of 12 sons of aging militant leader Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Mohammad Haqqani was a local commander in the network, and one official in a nearby village said he was considered to be less brutal than his brother. The official said the drone strike also killed four other people he described as "foreign militants," a phrase generally used in the region to refer to fighters who have come to Pakistan from Arab countries."

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"You clowns think you're gonna screw with ME??!!!"​
 
"A senior Afghan Taliban commander has been taken into custody in Pakistan, a security official here said Monday, the latest in a recent string of arrests that threaten to weaken the insurgency along the countries' border.

Maulavi Abdul Kabir was detained in Pakistan's northwest Nowshera district in recent weeks. One security official in that area said he was arrested in mid-January, but further circumstances of his arrest were not available at press time.

By some accounts, Kabir was a member of the Taliban's core leadership, known as the Quetta Shura. One Afghan official said that he was a leader in Jalalabad, in eastern Afghanistan, but not a member of the shura."

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"Heyyyyyyyy, RUMMY!! YOU ever get one o' them??!!!"
 
"A U.S. drone aircraft fired three missiles into Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border Wednesday, killing eight militants, Pakistani intelligence officials and residents said.

The strike targeted a stronghold of the Haqqani network, a major Taliban faction attacking Western forces across the border in Afghanistan. A similar strike last week in the same area killed a son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the leader of the group.

Fire broke out after the missiles exploded in Dargi Mandi village, 4 km (2.5 miles) north of North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah.

"Thick clouds of smoke are still coming from the area," said a Reuters reporter in Miranshah.

Pakistani intelligence agency officials said eight militants were killed, including three foreigners, but they said they had no information about their identity.

Residents said militants had cordoned off the area and were allowing no one to approach."

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ANOTHER Taliban Leader Arrested In Pakistan!!

"A top Taliban leader has been arrested in the southern port city of Karachi, Pakistan, a senior Pakistani military official told CNN.

Motasim was the finance minister for the Taliban government in Afghanistan prior to its ouster after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

His arrest is a significant blow to the Taliban, said Muhammad Amir Rana, head of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, a think tank that monitors militant activity. Motasim was very close to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, he said.

"He was in his inner court," Rana said.

Some analysts say the arrests underscore a change in Pakistan's policy brought on by pressure from the United States for higher levels of cooperation."

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"An explosive report by a court-appointed examiner on the collapse of Lehman Brothers may prove to be a roadmap for prosecutors to bring criminal cases against the investment bank's former executiveshttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62B4M820100312, legal experts say.

The 2,200-page report could lay the groundwork for felony charges under securities fraud laws, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or New York's Martin Act, which is more expansive than federal securities laws, the experts say.

"I think there are definitely criminal liability issues here -- especially for at least the handful of executives who sent emails making clear they knew they were helping Lehman hide its liabilities," said Elizabeth Nowicki, a former lawyer with the Securities and Exchange Commission and now a visiting professor at Boston University School of Law.

The report by the examiner, Anton Valukas, a former prosecutor and chairman of the law firm Jenner & Block, points to one direction prosecutors may take -- accounting tricks.

The report details how Lehman used an accounting gimmick to move $50 billion in assets off its balance sheet, making the now-bankrupt banking firm appear financially healthier than it was.

The report said the use of the accounting device was "materially misleading" and done for the sole purpose of "balance sheet manipulation."

SIC ELIOT SPITZER ON THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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"His whole career has been based on the idea of transcending partisanship. But lately, by confronting Republicans rather than courting them, Obama has Democrats fired up.

Amidst the speculation over whether David Axelrod hates Rahm Emanuel or Rahm Emanuel hates David Axelrod or Lawrence Summers hates them both, the punditocracy has glossed over something significant: Team Obama has had one hell of a month. In late January, health care reform was widely considered dead. Now it’s considered a better than even bet. It could all still end in tears, of course. But for the moment, Barack Obama has his mojo back. And he has it back for one basic reason: He’s given up the dream that he could transcend the partisan divide.

When Obama showed that he wasnt afraid of enraging Republicans by passing health care through “reconciliation,” a lot of congressional Democrats decided that they werent afraid eitherhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/20100311/ts_dailybeast/7058_obamaseesthelight."

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"You HAD your chance, REPUBLICANS!!!!!"
 
"Global investment banking revenues this year may match the buoyant levels of 2009, analysts forecast on Tuesday, easing fears of a sharp drop during what looks set to be a "pivotal" year for the industry.

Revenue$ had been expected to drop more sharply from levels seen in 2009, when income soared early in the year as capital markets bounced back from the financial crisis.

Looming regulatory changes and a fragile economy will challenge profitability and reshape the industry, the report said. "This will reinforce the need for players to compete hard for share and improve trading efficiency."

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"Banks will need to reposition around regulatory change, compete on scale, build outstanding risk management, and take clear decisions on reshaping the business," the report said.

Harsher regulation will force banks to hold more capital and is likely to wipe 4 percentage points off industry returns, with a "material risk" of a worse outcome, the report said.

Banks have reined in payouts to staff in the face of stiffer regulation and compensation averaged about 35 percent of revenue last year, from a historical average of 45 percent. The ratio needs to stay near 35 percent to offset the capital and funding drag on returns, the report said.

"A good number of players could become far less profitable without brave decisions," it said."

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"Hey....REPUBLICANS! How's 2010 lookin', for you, NOW??!!!"
 
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