George W Bush

Rejects Bush Administration's Last-Minute Dirty Air Policy

Washington (February 17, 2009) -- EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson took an important first step toward controlling carbon dioxide (CO2) in announcing that the EPA will take a fresh look at a Bush Administration rule preventing the regulation of CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources.

Jackson granted a petition for reconsideration filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund, and asked the EPA to reexamine the December 18, 2008 memorandum by former EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. These petitioners have also filed a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit raising legal challenges to the same memorandum.    » read more »

Decision Will Overturn Unlawful, Last-Minute Bush Administration Effort to Block Action on Global Warming

February 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC -- President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today took the first step toward regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. EPA, under the new leadership of Administrator Lisa Jackson, granted a petition from the Sierra Club and other groups calling for reconsideration of an unlawful, midnight memo issued by former EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson which sought to prohibit controls on global warming pollution from coal plants. EPA announced in a letter to the Sierra Club that it will publish a proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register and seek public comments on the decision in the near future.    » read more »

Obama’s Executive Order Reverses Abusive Bush Counter-Terror Policies

January 22, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) - US President Barack Obama's executive order to end the use of torture sets a new course for US counterterrorism policy, Human Rights Watch said today. Obama's decision to issue this order within two days of becoming president signals the high priority the new president places on establishing legal and effective counterterrorism policies.    » read more »

New Lighting Standards Could Be Biggest Energy Saver Ever But Proposal Falls Short

January 15, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.—Lighting efficiency standards proposed in the Bush administration’s final days leave huge energy and dollar savings, as well as huge pollution reductions, on the table, according to a coalition of energy efficiency organizations. The proposed new efficiency standards would cover the ubiquitous fluorescent tube lamps found in nearly every office and the equally common cone-shaped reflector lamps found in homes and businesses.    » read more »

25 September 2008 -- Iraqi police have raised the death toll from an ambush in Diyala province to 35 people, most of whom were police officers.

Gunmen ambushed the group of Iraqi policemen and anti-al-Qaida fighters on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said Thursday a suicide bomber killed an American soldier Wednesday in Diyala.

In other news, Iraqi lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill that calls for provincial elections to be held by January 31, several months later than originally planned.

U.S. President George Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the move, saying it will contribute to political reconciliation in Iraq.    » read more »

30 August 2008 -- The U.S. military says it has released more than 11,000 Iraqis from military detention centers this year.

In a statement issued Saturday coalition forces said the prisoners who were once considered a security threat, have completed their detainment and can go on to lead productive lives.

American military spokesman Major Neal Fisher says less than one percent of those released have been detained again.

He also said at the current rate, the U.S. military expects to reach its goal of having released more than 12,000 detainees by mid-September.

Source: DoD

September 01, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Harris, 36,of Lexington, North Carolina, died Aug. 30 from injuries sustained while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.

Harris was temporarily forward deployed from his assignment at Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Dam Neck, Va.

Source: DoD

September 01, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Steven J. Fitzmorris, 26, of Columbia, Missouri, died on Aug. 25 of wounds suffered from enemy fire while on a dismounted patrol in Adhamiyah, Iraq.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Source: DoD

September 01, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Jorge L. Feliz Nieve, 26, of Queens Village, New York, died on Aug. 28 of injuries sustained from a vehicle incident in Mosul, Iraq.

He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

The incident is under investigation.

Source: DoD

September 01, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Carlo E. Alfonso, 23, of Spokane, Washington, died on Aug. 26 of injuries sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Sadr City, Iraq.

He was assigned to the 40th Engineer Battalion, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

Source: DoD

August 29, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Michael L. Gonzalez, 20, of Spotswood, New Jersey, died Aug. 28 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered by an improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 340th Military Police Company, Fort Totten, N.Y.

Source: DoD

August 29, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. David K. Cooper, 25, of Williamsburg, Kentucky, died Aug. 27 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered in Qadasiyah, Iraq, when his dismounted patrol came under small arms fire.

He was assigned to Forward Support Company, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Source: DoD

August 28, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc Tan Q. Ngo, 20, of Beaverton, Oregon, died Aug. 27 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, when his mounted patrol received small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany.

Source: DoD

August 26, 2008 -- Chicago, IL -- "Today's news confirms what America's struggling families already know - that over the past seven years our economy has moved backwards. We have now lived through first so-called economic 'expansion' on record where typical families saw their incomes fall, and working-age households lost more than $2,000 from their paychecks.

Another 816,000 Americans fell into poverty in 2007 - including nearly 500,000 children - bringing the total increase in Americans in poverty under President Bush to 5.7 million.    » read more »

August 26, 2008 -- The United States condemns the decision by the Russian President to recognize as independent states the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This decision is inconsistent with numerous United Nations Security Council Resolutions that Russia has voted for in the past, and is also inconsistent with the French-brokered six-point ceasefire agreement which President Medvedev signed on August 12, 2008.*

The six-point agreement offered a peaceful way forward to resolve the conflict. We expect Russia to live up to its international commitments, reconsider this irresponsible decision, and follow the approach set out in the six-point agreement.    » read more »