5Sep

MFS – The Other News

5 Sep 2011 mfs-theothernews

Morning Posting.

  • Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity in Atlantic Ocean  6.0 , Vanuatu 5.7 and US (Atka) 5.1 ! More info here.

 

  • Japan : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to: Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog.Here.

 

  • Hurricane Katia : Latest Updates here.

 

  • Congressmen Ask White House for Documents on Solyndra’s Federal Loan.(Heritage).One day after solar company Solyndra closed its doors, two U.S. congressman are asking the White House for all documents related to the federal government’s $535 million loan guarantee. The probe also seeks correspondence between administration officials and the company’s investors, seeking to uncover if the White House engaged in cronyism to reward a major campaign donor.Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) was pursuing an investigation of the Department of Energy’s $535 million loan long before Solyndra announced plans to file for bankruptcy. Now, using his perch as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Stearns is turning up the heat. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), chairman of Energy and Commerce, also signed Thursday’s letter to White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. (Copy of the letter below.)The congressmen ask the White House to turn over all documents by Sept. 12. Previous attempts have been met with resistance, including the refusal by the administration to testify before Congress about the taxpayer-backed loan.“Solyndra represented the first step in the Obama Administration’s $60 billion loan guarantee program, which promised to create thousands of new jobs,” Stearns said. “Now with the collapse of Solyndra, we see 1,100 employees out of work and taxpayers out of $535 million, most likely.”Solyndra secured the loan from the Department of Energy under a stimulus program. It was hailed as a model example by President Obama, who even visited the plant in May 2010. Vice President Biden spoke via satellite at Solyndra’s groundbreaking ceremony in September 2009 and Energy Secretary Steven Chu was in Fremont, CA, to mark the occasion.Perhaps it wasn’t unusual to shower so much attention on the company. After all, Obama has close ties to one of Solyndra’s investors, Oklahoma oil billionaire George Kaiser. He was a “bundler” of campaign donations for Obama in 2008. In that role, Kaiser raised at least $50,000 for the campaign.Reps. Upton and Stearns Letter to White House on Solyndra.Read the full story here.

 

  • White House: Obama’s Huge Jobs Speech Might Not Be So Huge After All, Say Entire Plan Won’t Be Released On Thursday.(Fox News) — In what could be a way of lowering expectations for next Thursday’s big economic speech, aides to President Obama are privately spreading word that he will not present his entire jobs plan in his address to a Joint Session of Congress.Aides say Thursday’s speech will be part of a bigger plan the White House will roll out throughout the fall with the president hitting the road for speeches and town hall appearances.(Campaigning?) Aides have already confirmed that Obama will be traveling to California, Colorado, and Washington state for one three-day swing later this month that will include economic events as well as some fundraising.The move could be a way to try and lower the stakes for Thursday’s Joint Session appearance, but it could also be an attempt by the administration to show the president is trying to stay all over the economy heading into what will likely be an uphill re-election battle.“There’s no question the president will want to keep returning to jobs,” one top aide told Fox News. “I don’t want to downplay the speech [next week] — it’s going to be substantial. But the idea that this is the be-all and end-all is wrong.”The president promised to release his plan to create jobs after returning from his Martha’s Vineyard vacation in late August and Friday’s report will put more pressure on him to deliver. But White House officials still say it’s unlikely the president will release the whole plan Thursday night.Hmmmmm…..Might it be that the (Election campaign) plan is to discredit Congress?Read the full story here.

 

  • House Investigators Find Evidence Obama Officials Were Personally Involed In Helping Now-Bankrupt Solyndra Energy Receive Massive Federal Loan.(ABC News) — House investigators said they have uncovered evidence that White House officials became personally involved in an Energy Department review of a hot-button $535 million loan guarantee to the now-failed California solar company Solyndra.The allegation surfaced in a letter House Energy Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent to the White House Thursday night, saying he planned to accelerate efforts to understand an investment deal that may have left taxpayers out half a billion dollars.“We have learned from our investigation that White House officials monitored Solyndra’s application and communicated with [Department of Energy] and Office of Management and Budget officials during the course of their review,” the letter says. Thursday’s letter, which calls on the White House to turn over correspondence between administration officials, Solyndra and its investors, presents the most pointed suggestion that the White House had direct involvement in the financing.“How did this company, without maybe the best economic plan, all of a sudden get to the head of the line?” Upton told ABC News in an interview this week. “We want to know who made this decision … and we’re not going to stop until we get those answers.”Hmmmm……. SolyndraGate?Read the full story here.

 

  • Danon to Clinton: Declare Turkey a terror-supporting state.(JPost).Following a Turkish ultimatum warning Israel to apologize for the raid of the Mavi Marmara or face snactions, Likud MK Danny Danon on Thursday sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling on Washington to declare Turkey a “terror-supporting state.””Turkey has gotten closer to Iran and constitutes a direct continuation of the axis of evil. The government in Washington must answer the Turkish problem before it is too late,” Danon wrote.Danon called for economic and diplomatic sanctions against Turkey until Ankara changes its ways and abandons the way of terror.”The Turks have crossed the line. They supported the flotilla, they support terror and they dare to ask Israel to apologize to them,” Danon stated in response to the ultimatum.Hmmmm…….How else did Iran survive and flourished with the economic sanctions? Read the full story here.