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06 Jun 2010 11:35

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Politics, World: Israel to UN: We don’t need no stinkin’ international oversight!

  • We are rejecting an international commission. We are discussing with the Obama administration a way in which our inquiry will take place.
  • Israel’s US ambassador, Michael Oren • Regarding the country’s response to the UN’s proposal of an international commission to study what happened during the flotilla incident. Why reject the proposal? “Israel is a democratic nation,” Oren says. “Israel has the ability and the right to investigate itself, not to be investigated by any international board.” But we’re guessing the international board might have slightly less bias in the situation than Israel might. Just a hunch. source

30 May 2010 13:34

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U.S.: Unemployed people get lost in the Senate shuffle again

  • good The House decided to pass an extension on jobless benefits before the June 2 deadline.
  • bad The Senate didn’t, and they don’t go back to work until June 7, so no benefits next week, guys. source

18 Jan 2010 09:27

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U.S.: The underground lobbying game: Political advocates skirt the rules

  • All the increasing restrictions on lobbyists are a disincentive to be a lobbyist, and those who think they can deregister are eagerly doing so. It is creating some apparent contradictions.
  • Veteran political lawyer Jan Baran • Regarding the apparent push for lobbyists to be lobbyists in everything but name. Essentially, legal restrictions on what lobbyists can do is creating something of a black market for lobbying. By leaving “lobbyist” as a hard-and-fast definition, many policy advocates choose to simply not register and avoid the oversight. Why are there always loopholes when it comes to the business of political influence? It creates vacuums like this one. source