Obama administration is divided over future of U.S.-Pakistan relationship
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on May 15th, 2011 4:35 am by HL
Obama administration is divided over future of U.S.-Pakistan relationship
Two weeks after the death of Osama bin Laden, the Obama administration remains uncertain and divided over the future of its relationship with Pakistan, according to senior U.S. officials.
The discovery of the al-Qaeda leader in a city near Pakistan’s capital has pushed many in the administration beyond any willingness to tolerate Pakistan’s ambiguous connections with extremist groups. After years of ineffective American warnings, many U.S. officials are concluding that a change in policy is long overdue.
Same-sex marriage push in NY getting key help from GOP business titans
NEW YORK — A gay rights coalition hoping to legalize same-sex marriage in New York has been getting an infusion of cash from a surprising source: Republican business titans.
The New York Times reported Friday that a small but influential group of GOP money men have provided the bulk of the financing for the advocacy umbrella group New Yorkers United for Marriage.
Big donors to the effort include Paul Singer, the chairman of the Manhattan Institute and a major donor to Republican political campaigns.
Federal worker pensions emerge as target in debt-reduction talks
The generous pension system enjoyed by millions of federal workers from clerks to senators and judges has emerged as a key target in negotiations between Vice President Biden and congressional leaders looking to restrain the growing national debt.
Republicans have proposed saving more than $120 billion over the next decade by requiring the civilian workforce to contribute more toward retirement — a plan that would effectively impose an immediate 5 percent pay cut on more than 2 million federal employees. President Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission has also endorsed the idea, calling the federal system “out of line” with the private sector.
IMF leader arrested at NYC airport after allegations of sex assault by maid at Manhattan hotel
NEW YORK — The leader of the International Monetary Fund and a possible candidate for president of France was arrested Sunday in the violent sexual assault of a hotel maid after being yanked from an airplane moments before it was to depart for Paris, police said.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested on charges of a criminal sex act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment and was awaiting arraignment. He had been taken off the Air France flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday afternoon by officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and was turned over to New York police, said Paul J. Browne, New York Police Department spokesman.
