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Stimulus Spotlight Turns to Governors, Panelists Say
From the moment that President Obama was sworn in on Jan. 20 until he signed the $787 billion economic recovery package into law on Feb. 17, the stimulus spotlight shined on him and Congress as the behemoth bill rapidly worked its way through the legislative process. Now the focus turns to governors, who will be under pressure to spend the money efficiently and wisely. Fulfilling that mandate will require an unprecedented emphasis on transparency and cooperation between state and local government, according to experts who participated in a Feb. 19 Newsmaker. In a sign of the continuing high…
Type: News
FedEx CEO Says Dependence on Imported Oil Must End
Calling high oil prices the "match" that has ignited the current international economic crisis, FedEx Corp. founder and CEO Fred Smith told a luncheon audience Feb. 23 that the U.S. must cut its heavy dependence on imported oil by developing electric cars and trucks. Smith unveiled a cost/benefit study commissioned by the Energy Security Leadership Council that he said shows major economic, security and environmental benefits to implementing the Council's September 2008 recommendations for diversifying U.S. energy supplies. Smith and former U.S. Marine Corp Commandant Gen. P.X. Kelley are…
Type: News
Conservative Leader Sees Hope for Movement in Obama Era
In the two most recent elections, voters rejected the way that Republicans conducted themselves in office not the values they espoused to get there, a conservative leader said at a Feb. 24 Newsmaker. David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, is confident that the political atmosphere still favors the right side of the political spectrum. Despite strong approval ratings for President Obama, he sees hope for the conservative movement. “We are a nation that is slightly right of center in our values and our attitude,” Keene said. “The route to victory is to stand with your values…
Type: News
Public Broadcasting Needs to Rethink Business Model, NPR Chief Says
Public broadcasting needs to rethink the business model, Vivian Schiller, president and CEO of National Public Radio told a Club luncheon Monday. She said that although in the next 18 months more jobs will likely be trimmed at NPR, her goal is to increase NPR’s collaboration with other public outlets, step up NPR’s news-gathering efforts — especially in terms of investigative journalism -- and become a network that reaches more people on every media platform that they enjoy, from listening on the car radio, to receiving broadcasts on cell phones and iPods. “I want NPR to become a…
Type: News
Georgian Security Advisor Wants Focus on Russian Troops
The Georgian government wants the "engagement of the international community," Georgian national security advisor Eka Tkeshelashvili, told a March 5 Newsmaker. She called it "the key" to solving the "problem of Russian military forces in my country." When Georgia tried to retake its breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in August following clashes with Russian-baked rebels, Russia counterattacked, Georgian troops were ejected and Russian forces remain in the regions. Tkeshelashvili, who has a master of law degree from the Univiersity of Notre Dame and was most recently minister of…
Type: News
Clark Urges Administration to Increase Ethanol Blend
Former general and presidential candidate Wesley Clark, new head of the pro-ethanol Growth Energy, called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to raise the limit on the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline from 10 percent (E10) up to 15 percent (E15) in a Newsmaker in the Holman Lounge on Friday. Clark said E15 could create 136,101 new jobs and inject $24.4 billion into the American economy annually. “Increasing the ethanol blend up to E15 is a common-sense solution to our economic, energy and environmental challenges," Clark said, adding that a higher blend of ethanol will help…
Type: News
Hungary Defense Chief Hails Security Pact with US
Hungarian defense minister Imre Szekeres told a March 11 Newsmaker his country's security cooperation agreement with the U.S., which includes training of the national army, makes it possible for his nation to "maintain our military capabilities." NATO member Hungary has approximately 400 troops in Afghanistan, with another 100 planned, and Szekeres predicted that 2009 "can be a real turning point" in the fighting in that country. He also predicted Georgia and Ukraine would eventually join NATO "when the situation matures enough", without further explanation. And he called Russia a "strategic…
Type: News
Nice Job, Charles Davis! NPC Member is Journalism Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to two Club members for a fine showing! NPC member Charles Davis, associate professor of journalism studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, won the "Journalism Teacher of the Year Award" in Scripps Howard Foundation's annual National Journalism Awards. Davis receives $10,000 and the Charles E. Scripps award. His school also receives a $5,000 grant. The award is given in cooperation with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Also, NPC member Carolyn Lochhead of the San Francisco Chronicle was a finalist in the Washington reporting category…
Type: News
Iraq Inspector General Recounts Recovery of Missing Funds
A team of investigators and auditors recently recovered $13 million in previously lost or stolen reconstruction funds, Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, said at a March 16 Newsmaker.Criticizing the government's lack of "institutional memory" in disbursing reconstruction monies during and after wartime, Bowen predicted that his office's 500-page account of the Iraq reconstruction program would be a blueprint for guiding future reconstruction and redevelopment in Afghanistan. The book, Hard Lessons: the Iraq Reconstruction Experience," was published a month…
Type: News
Sinn Fein Leader Says Soldiers' Killing Should Not Derail Peace Process
Gerry Adams, president of the Northern Ireland political party Sinn Fein ("We, Ourselves," in Irish Gaelic), told a March 16 Newsmaker the public reaction to the recent murder of two British soldiers and a police officer in Northern Ireland "reflect the success" of the Good Friday Agreement peace process designed to establish a united Ireland. Adams also is a Member of Parliament of Britain but refuses to take his seat because it would require an oath of loyalty to the Queen. "The vast majority of the people (of Northern Ireland) are opposed to what happened," Adams said, calling the…
Type: News