Date: 2/3/2009
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eric Holder has won confirmation as the first black attorney general, but he’ll have little time to consider his role in history as he decides which Bush administration counterterrorism policies to reverse.
Holder was confirmed 75-21 Monday, with all the opposition coming from Republicans. He will be sworn in Tuesday by Vice President Joe Biden.
For starters, the new attorney general will learn the secrets of the Office of Legal Counsel, whose lawyers justified the use of controversial interrogation tactics and even declined to provide Bush administration documents to internal Justice Department investigators.
Holder will inherit a Justice Department wracked by Bush administration scandals over politically inspired hirings and firings. He has pledged to restore its reputation.
Holder also will play a major role in the future of terrorism detainees.
President Barack Obama, in a major policy shift, signed an executive order to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year. He also created a special task force to review detainee policy; Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will serve as co-chairs.
That panel will look at options for apprehension, detention, trial, transfer or release of detainees and report to the president within 180 days.
Holder promised senators he would review why career prosecutors in Washington decided not to prosecute the former head of the department’s Civil Rights Division. An inspector general’s report last month found that Bradley Schlozman, the former head of the division, misled lawmakers about whether he politicized hiring decisions.
Another key question facing Holder is whether to reverse former President George W. Bush’s order that three of his former top aides — Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten — should not testify before Congress about firings of U.S. attorneys. Rove and Miers were former aides when Bush gave his order.
If Obama reverses Bush’s policy, it would create a new legal issue: whether a former president’s order against testifying would still be valid.
The Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program is certain to come under Holder’s scrutiny.
After a lengthy and heated debate that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks, Congress last year eased the rules under which the government could wiretap American phone and computer lines to listen for terrorists and spies.
Holder promised one senator that he would re-examine a ruling by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey that immigrants facing deportation do not have a right to government-provided lawyers. Holder said he understands the desire to expedite immigration court proceedings, but added that the Constitution also requires that proceedings be fair.
There also could be changes in conducting warrantless surveillance.
Holder’s chief supporter, Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said the confirmation was a fulfillment of Martin Luther King’s dream that everyone would be judged by the content of their character.
“Come on the right side of history,” said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Worldwide hopes soar for Obama inauguration
Date: 1/20/2009
By GREGORY KATZ
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) — The arrival of a new American president triggered joy and jubilation Tuesday in a world made weary by warfare, recession and fear. Bulls and goats were slaughtered for feasts in Kenya, toasts were offered at black-tie balls in Europe and shamans in Latin America chanted Barack Obama’s name with reverence.
From Kenya and Indonesia, where Barack Obama has family ties, to Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, Obama’s inauguration sparked a volcanic explosion of hope for better days ahead.
The ascendance of the first African-American to the presidency of the United States was heralded as marking a new era of tolerance and possibility.
Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who also inspired millions, sent a letter to Obama shortly before his inauguration.
“Your election to this high office has inspired people as few other events in recent times have done,” Mandela wrote. “Amongst many around the world a sense of hopelessness had set in as so many problems remain unresolved and seemingly incapable of being resolved. You, Mister President, have brought a new voice of hope that these problems can be addressed and that we can in fact change the world and make of it a better place.”
The anti-apartheid icon’s sentiment was echoed in much of the world.
Alex Andrade, a 24-year-old unemployed black Brazilian, said Obama’s rise has inspired Brazil’s poor.
“Blacks face so much discrimination here,” he said, standing outside the Cantagalo slum, where ramshackle shacks line steep hills in Rio de Janeiro. “Now with a black man in charge of such an important country, it might help decrease the racism in Brazil.”
It was a reflection of Obama’s sprawling, complex family tree that villages in places as diverse as Ireland and Kenya held special parties to celebrate their link to the new president.
In Kenya, traditional dancers performed, feasts were held and movie screens were erected so neighbors could join together for the moment, only a year after their own elections were marred by horrific ethnic violence.
“Our election in Kenya really had problems with ethnicity … America has shown that this doesn’t have to be that big a problem,” said Dr. Joseph Osoo, who runs a clinic in one of Kenya’s biggest slums and last year at this time was stitching up people wounded in election riots.
“Kenyans are very happy because their son is going to be the leader of America,” he said.
In the village of Kogelo in western Kenya, where many of Obama’s Kenyan relatives live, women dressed in colorful printed cloths performed traditional dances to the rhythms of cowhide drums.
At the biggest hospital in nearby Kisumu, Christine Aoko named her newborn daughter Michelle, after Obama’s wife.
“I hope my girl will grow as tough as Michelle,” Aoko told The Associated Press.
An Irish village called Moneygall covered itself in red, white and blue bunting Tuesday in honor of Obama’s connections, via a great-great-great grandfather named Fulmouth Kearney who emigrated to the United States in 1850.
They also baked a special round fruitcake, locally called a “brack,” to sell for the occasion — with Obama’s picture on the wrapping.
In the South American country of Guyana, dozens of work sites closed at noon to let employees watch the inauguration.
“As far as I am concerned, today is a holiday,” said Patrick Hazelwood, an insurance agent in Georgetown. “I have also told my staff they are free to do what they want and take in the ceremony. Today is a serious day for everybody, a historic day.”
There was also jubilation in the often-violent Colombian town of Puerto Tejada, where sugarcane-cutting descendants of African slaves had the day off to celebrate and watched the Washington proceedings on a giant screen.
“The people here see themselves represented in Obama,” Mayor Elver Montano told the AP.
In Peru’s capital of Lima, a dozen faith healers from Peru, Brazil, Mexico and Bolivia danced during the inauguration. Stomping their feet, shaking rattles and blowing smoke, they chanted Obama’s name while throwing flower petals and coca leaves at his photograph.
The ancient Andean ritual is known as Jatun Sonjo, or ‘Big Heart’ in the Quechua language, explained shaman Juan Osco.
“In ancient times, it was one of the rituals dedicated to Inca and pre-Inca rulers,” Osco said. ” Today we dedicate it from Peru to Obama, because he is the first black president and his heart is big for the whole world.”
In Sweden, African-American singer Cyndee Peters was hosting a show named “A Gala for Obama,” featuring dozens of Swedish soul, jazz, hip-hop, gospel, folk and blues artists.
“Obama fever is all over the whole world, ” said Peters, 62, who grew up in North Carolina and New York. “What he stands for needs to be celebrated.”
In London, Americans could get free admission to Madame Tussaud’s waxworks to see the new figure of Obama, and parties were scheduled in dozens of venues, from ritzy hotels to local sports bars.
Louise Darko from Atlanta, standing on line to be photographed with the Obama waxwork, was thrilled with Obama’s inauguration because of the difficulties her great-grandfather faced when he was one of the first blacks to attend university in the American south.
“Now when I tell my children you can grow up to be anything, I really mean it,” said Darko, 44. “
In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, where Obama spent four years as a young boy, students from his former school swayed and spun in bright, traditional costumes representing Indonesia’s ethnically diverse tropical islands.
Old classmates gathered at the Menteng 1 elementary school to watch a speech on television by the once-chubby kid they remember as Barry.
“I’m proud that the next president is someone who I have shared time with,” said Rully Dasaad, a fellow Boy Scout with Obama. “It was a crucial time for children our age, it is when we learned tolerance, sharing, pluralism, acceptance and respect of difference in cultures and religions.”
___
AP writers Min Lee in Hong Kong, Anthony Deutsch and Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin, Dean Carson in London, Bert Wilkinson in Guyana, Vivian Sequera in Colombia, Bradley Brooks in Brazil and Andrew Whalen in Peru.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By GREGORY KATZ
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) — The arrival of a new American president triggered joy and jubilation Tuesday in a world made weary by warfare, recession and fear. Bulls and goats were slaughtered for feasts in Kenya, toasts were offered at black-tie balls in Europe and shamans in Latin America chanted Barack Obama’s name with reverence.
From Kenya and Indonesia, where Barack Obama has family ties, to Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, Obama’s inauguration sparked a volcanic explosion of hope for better days ahead.
The ascendance of the first African-American to the presidency of the United States was heralded as marking a new era of tolerance and possibility.
Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who also inspired millions, sent a letter to Obama shortly before his inauguration.
“Your election to this high office has inspired people as few other events in recent times have done,” Mandela wrote. “Amongst many around the world a sense of hopelessness had set in as so many problems remain unresolved and seemingly incapable of being resolved. You, Mister President, have brought a new voice of hope that these problems can be addressed and that we can in fact change the world and make of it a better place.”
The anti-apartheid icon’s sentiment was echoed in much of the world.
Alex Andrade, a 24-year-old unemployed black Brazilian, said Obama’s rise has inspired Brazil’s poor.
“Blacks face so much discrimination here,” he said, standing outside the Cantagalo slum, where ramshackle shacks line steep hills in Rio de Janeiro. “Now with a black man in charge of such an important country, it might help decrease the racism in Brazil.”
It was a reflection of Obama’s sprawling, complex family tree that villages in places as diverse as Ireland and Kenya held special parties to celebrate their link to the new president.
In Kenya, traditional dancers performed, feasts were held and movie screens were erected so neighbors could join together for the moment, only a year after their own elections were marred by horrific ethnic violence.
“Our election in Kenya really had problems with ethnicity … America has shown that this doesn’t have to be that big a problem,” said Dr. Joseph Osoo, who runs a clinic in one of Kenya’s biggest slums and last year at this time was stitching up people wounded in election riots.
“Kenyans are very happy because their son is going to be the leader of America,” he said.
In the village of Kogelo in western Kenya, where many of Obama’s Kenyan relatives live, women dressed in colorful printed cloths performed traditional dances to the rhythms of cowhide drums.
At the biggest hospital in nearby Kisumu, Christine Aoko named her newborn daughter Michelle, after Obama’s wife.
“I hope my girl will grow as tough as Michelle,” Aoko told The Associated Press.
An Irish village called Moneygall covered itself in red, white and blue bunting Tuesday in honor of Obama’s connections, via a great-great-great grandfather named Fulmouth Kearney who emigrated to the United States in 1850.
They also baked a special round fruitcake, locally called a “brack,” to sell for the occasion — with Obama’s picture on the wrapping.
In the South American country of Guyana, dozens of work sites closed at noon to let employees watch the inauguration.
“As far as I am concerned, today is a holiday,” said Patrick Hazelwood, an insurance agent in Georgetown. “I have also told my staff they are free to do what they want and take in the ceremony. Today is a serious day for everybody, a historic day.”
There was also jubilation in the often-violent Colombian town of Puerto Tejada, where sugarcane-cutting descendants of African slaves had the day off to celebrate and watched the Washington proceedings on a giant screen.
“The people here see themselves represented in Obama,” Mayor Elver Montano told the AP.
In Peru’s capital of Lima, a dozen faith healers from Peru, Brazil, Mexico and Bolivia danced during the inauguration. Stomping their feet, shaking rattles and blowing smoke, they chanted Obama’s name while throwing flower petals and coca leaves at his photograph.
The ancient Andean ritual is known as Jatun Sonjo, or ‘Big Heart’ in the Quechua language, explained shaman Juan Osco.
“In ancient times, it was one of the rituals dedicated to Inca and pre-Inca rulers,” Osco said. ” Today we dedicate it from Peru to Obama, because he is the first black president and his heart is big for the whole world.”
In Sweden, African-American singer Cyndee Peters was hosting a show named “A Gala for Obama,” featuring dozens of Swedish soul, jazz, hip-hop, gospel, folk and blues artists.
“Obama fever is all over the whole world, ” said Peters, 62, who grew up in North Carolina and New York. “What he stands for needs to be celebrated.”
In London, Americans could get free admission to Madame Tussaud’s waxworks to see the new figure of Obama, and parties were scheduled in dozens of venues, from ritzy hotels to local sports bars.
Louise Darko from Atlanta, standing on line to be photographed with the Obama waxwork, was thrilled with Obama’s inauguration because of the difficulties her great-grandfather faced when he was one of the first blacks to attend university in the American south.
“Now when I tell my children you can grow up to be anything, I really mean it,” said Darko, 44. “
In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, where Obama spent four years as a young boy, students from his former school swayed and spun in bright, traditional costumes representing Indonesia’s ethnically diverse tropical islands.
Old classmates gathered at the Menteng 1 elementary school to watch a speech on television by the once-chubby kid they remember as Barry.
“I’m proud that the next president is someone who I have shared time with,” said Rully Dasaad, a fellow Boy Scout with Obama. “It was a crucial time for children our age, it is when we learned tolerance, sharing, pluralism, acceptance and respect of difference in cultures and religions.”
___
AP writers Min Lee in Hong Kong, Anthony Deutsch and Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin, Dean Carson in London, Bert Wilkinson in Guyana, Vivian Sequera in Colombia, Bradley Brooks in Brazil and Andrew Whalen in Peru.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
