Obanomics - Obama Econonomy Team crisis management experts economists as Tim Geithner who is under confirmation hearing here at the Senate:"Senators, in this crisis, our financial system failed to meet its most basic obligations," Geithner said. "The system was too fragile and unstable, and because of this, the system was unfair and unjust. Individuals, families, and businesses that were careful and responsible were damaged by the actions of those who were not. So we need to move quickly to build a stronger, more resilient system with much greater protections for consumers and for investors, with much stronger tools to prevent and respond to future crises. We've experienced a great loss of faith in our economy, but we have not lost the most fundamental of American abilities: the ability to adapt, to change, and to reform. This will take time, it will require action on a scale that we have not seen in generations, and we will have to keep at it until we restore the confidence of Americans and of the world in America's economic leadership." Volcker has issued a stark warning to the Senate: America is in the midst of "the mother of all financial crises" while endorsing the Geithner candidacy.



View reports (in Russian & in English) on the assasination style killing in Moscow of HR lawyer Stanislav Markelov and 'Novaya Gazeta' journalist Anastasia Baburova which provoked grief and outrage in Russia, a country where lawyers and journalists who challenge the official version of justice are frequently murdered. Colleagues compare these events with the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya — a client of Markelov's and a fellow enemy of rights abuses in Chechnya and across former President Vladimir Putin's Russia. Prominent rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva called the shooting "a disgrace for Russia" while a well-known HR lawyer Yury Schmidt named - a political assasination.